Travel-Related Zika Virus Cases Detected in Florida, Illinois

There are 96 suspected cases of pregnant women contracting the virus in El Salvador. It is understood the mother contracted the virus while in Brazil. It is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue and chikungunya.

The two women recently traveled to countries where the Zika virus is found and physicians are monitoring their health and pregnancies, according to state health officials.

Outbreaks of the virus has been reported in Africa, southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Central and South America.

The zika virus is a tropical disease transmitted by mosquitos that has been linked to birth defects and death of newborns.

Doctors say the Berkeley woman won’t know if she has the Zika virus for certain, for about a week.

As the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus sweeps through a number of countries in Caribbean and Latin America, US health officials fear a similar outbreak on American soil. Microcephaly is a condition which causes damage to the brains of newly born children and results in the babies being born with unusually small heads.

So far, health authorities have only confirmed six cases of microcephaly where the infant was infected with the mosquito-born Zika virus. Hospitalizations and fatalities are rare, with symptoms such as rash and fever lasting from a few days to one week.

Speaking Wednesday at a news conference in the capital, Brasilia, the ministry’s emergency response official, Wanderson Oliveira, said that the reported cases are being investigated to determine whether they are really cases of microcephaly. Pregnant women have been strongly recommended by the CDC to avoid travelling to 14 countries and territories where the existence of the virus has been confirmed.

The level two travel alert applies to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. When traveling to countries where Zika virus or other viruses spread by mosquitoes have been reported, people are advised to use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and trousers, and stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens.