Anoka County woman diagnosed with Zika virus infection

More than 1,000 cases of microcephaly have been reported in just a few months in Pernambuco state, the epicentre of the Zika outbreak.

US President Barack Obama has called for faster research on the quick-moving Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and has been linked to a rise in birth defects in Brazil.

Travellers to countries with local transmission of the Zika virus should protect themselves from mosquito bites by wearing long, covered clothing, applying insect repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets.

Why is it a worry for pregnant women? .

These include putting up health posters for outbound travellers, raising awareness among the medical community and admitting anyone confirmed to have the virus into a single room at the hospital.

The Zika virus is a flavivirus, part of the same family as yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya and dengue.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – the largest organization representing obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States – said last week that it supports the guidelines aimed at shielding pregnant women from the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

The jump in cases has prompted a global health scare, with several countries cautioning pregnant women against traveling to the 22 nations in the Americas where the virus has been reported. But mosquitoes who bite an infected person can spread it to their next victims.

The virus – which causes symptoms including rash, fever, conjunctivitis and headache – has been linked to birth defects in children born to mothers infected while they are pregnant. The virus has been connected to an exceptional high number of babies born with microcephaly in Brazil. This is despite the US Centers for Disease Control now placing the virus at alert level two.

It’s believed the virus can also be sexually transmitted.

One in five people who contract Zika won’t show any signs of the illness, but pregnant women should be aware because of the danger Zika poses to unborn babies, said Dr. Leia Johnson, an infectious disease physician at the Cleveland Clinic. The two closest ports to Shreveport-Bossier City are in New Orleans and Galveston, Texas. Pregnant women are warned to avoid trips to Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Suriname, Samoa, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

After being first detected in 1947 in a monkey in Uganda, Zika was most often found along the equator from Africa into Asia.

There is now no treatment or vaccination for the virus, though drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline is looking into using its possible vaccination technology on the Zika virus.