2 more cases of Zika reported in Florida

One of America’s top doctors, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Friday the suspected link appears “stronger and stronger” as researchers study whether there is a causal connection.

It is recommended that pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant discuss their travel plans with their health-care provider to assess their risk and consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus is circulating.

They said this marked the first time the virus had been detected in either fluid.

After confirming a sexually transmitted case of Zika virus in Dallas County, Texas, the CDC released guidelines calling for men who have traveled to affected areas to use condoms during sex with a pregnant partner or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.

The virus is now widespread in the Americas but – with the exception of the Dallas case – all 35 infections in the continental US have resulted from travel to the affected regions.

People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. French Polynesia, Brazil, Colombia, and El Salvador have reported increases in GBS cases associated with Zika outbreaks.

Most Guillain-Barre patients recover, but the syndrome sometimes causes paralysis or even death. However, 80 percent of those who contract the virus don’t show symptoms, according to the Health Advisory from West Virginia’s Bureau for Public Health.

The vast majority of Zika infections have been caused by mosquito bites, but word surfaced this week of infections caused by sexual transmission and blood transfusions.

USA and United Nations officials told AP that Brazil probably shared fewer than 20 samples when experts say hundreds or thousands of samples are needed to track the virus’ evolution and develop accurate diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

The virus may be present in a form that is incapable of spreading, or in such low levels that transmission is impossible or unlikely, several scientists said.

So far, Frieden said, CDC has heard about 51 cases of people coming back with Zika infections to the continental U.S. Six of these have been pregnant women and in one case a baby was born with microcephaly – a woman in Hawaii who had been living in Brazil.

“We’re still learning more about [the virus in] saliva and how it works in the body”, Frieden said. These include low-grade fever, joint pain, red eyes, rash and generalized symptoms such as muscle pain, physical weakness, lack of energy and headaches.

He said that calls for pregnant women to take special precautions, and suggested they avoid kissing people other than a regular partner or sharing cutlery, glasses and plates with people who have symptoms of the virus.

Zika is carried by mosquitoes, namely the Aedes aegypti, a tropical bug that’s great at transmitting diseases like yellow fever, dengue, and Zika. “And we’re not surprised not to see cases of microcephaly in other countries because of the time frame between infection and delivery”.