3rd case of Zika virus found in Lee County

As reported by Reuters, the USOC communicated via conference call in late January that the “athletes and staff concerned for their health over the Zika virus should consider not going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August”.

So far, the epidemic has seemingly been limited to Brazil.

If someone is actively infected, the CDC has a test that diagnoses Zika fairly well. Those thought to have been infected could then have ultrasound scans to monitor their fetus’ development.

A third person has died as a result of contracting the mosquito-borne Zika virus, Brazil’s health ministry has confirmed.

The Zika virus is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites, and the mosquito linked to the outbreaks does not exist in this region.

The USOC’s decision to hire the specialists was first reported by USA Today.

Castro and Pedro Vasconcelos, a doctor at the Evandro Chagas Institute of Infectious Diseases, announced the vaccine partnership with the USA researchers as Brazil pledged $1.9 million to the effort over the next five years.

The situation regarding Zika virus has been changing as new information develops.

Although only 20 percent of people infected will have symptoms, the virus has been associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barr Syndrome, a neurological disorder and microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by smaller than normal head size.

Officials say the patient traveled to a country where Zika has been active and ongoing. USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun sent a letter Wednesday to all potential American Olympians, acknowledging the growing concern over the virus.

With much of Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, experiencing widespread transmission of Zika over the past month, health officials have expected to see Americans traveling to those countries returning home with the virus.

Zika has spread to more than 25 nations and territories in the Western Hemisphere.

Redd, the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, says CDC teams are deployed right now all over the world. The money will go toward developing a better lab test to detect the virus, mosquito-control programs and to create a vaccine.

The White House’s $1.8 billion funding request followed a WHO emergency declaration last week that the Zika virus is now a global health threat.