Health Officials Confirm Five Americans Infected; Includes Two Pregnant Women

The Zika virus transmission has been documented in Brazil, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Martinique, Paraguay, El Salvador, Mexico, Suriname, French Guiana, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Guyana, Haiti, Barbados, Ecuador and St Martin.

Last week, the United States warned pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America because of the virus. Many do not survive.

New cases of the Zika virus, which is linked to birth defects, have been confirmed in Florida and IL, state officials said.

“One in five people actually get symptoms most people don’t even know they’re infected and that’s a problem”.

A Hawaiian newborn was confirmed by the health officials last week as the first case in the US.

Another official, the head of the ministry’s transmissible disease department, Claudio Maierovitch, said that officials are learning about microcephaly and Zika quickly, but still there is quite a lot that needs to be known.

Ziku is a type of mosquito-borne disease, nearly similar to the fatal dengue.

There is no vaccine for the virus yet, so all preventive measures should be focused on preventing mosquito bites.

(AP Photo/Andre Penner). An army soldier and a health agent from Sao Paulo’s Public health secretary check a residence during an operation against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is a vector for transmitting the Zika virus in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wedne… Normally, about 150 cases of microcephaly are reported, and Brazil says it is investigating more than 3,500 reported cases.

He said most of the cases of microcephaly remain concentrated in Brazil’s poor northeastern region. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has responded with travel alerts and advisories, particularly for pregnant women.

At the moment, the only method to combat the Zika virus, which is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is to clear bodies of stagnant water. Women who have tested negative should consider follow-up ultrasounds for the duration of their pregnancy under the new guidelines.

There’s been an increase in cases in some countries, but cases are starting to show up in the United States.

According to the agency, Zika virus is a second-category notifiable infection disease, requiring doctors to report cases within 24 hours of detection.

The Zika virus is in the same family as the viruses that cause dengue, yellow fever, West Nile and Japanese encephalitis – and can be just as risky. Typical symptoms of Zika virus infection include a sudden onset of fever, rash, swollen and inflamed eyes, and joint pain.

“I think that the southern Gulf Coast, South Florida and Southern California are probably all at risk for introduction, and Hawaii”, Wesson said.