Zika Virus Detected In Yolo County Resident

The Zika virus, until recently viewed as relatively mild, has sparked concern because of a possible link between infection in pregnancy and microcephaly, a rare birth defect in which infants are born with abnormally small heads that can be accompanied by developmental problems.

This week another pregnant woman became the third confirmed case in Queensland in 2016.

The latest case involves a woman from the state of Victoria who was going through an “extremely anxious” time, the southern state’s Health Minister Jill Hennessy said. However, officials would not name the countries visited by the people who contracted the virus.

There is no vaccine for the virus and the CDC recommends that pregnant women not travel to infected countries.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation says potential Zika vaccines are at least 18 months away from large-scale trials. The World Health Organization (WHO) now estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year. “This woman is pregnant”, she said.

It said there was no trace of Zika in any other organs, suggesting the virus had a tendency to infect and attack nerve cells. “I will be evaluating the President’s supplemental funding request to ensure that it both meets the criteria for emergency spending and provides the resources necessary to stop the spread of this virus”. Pregnant U.S. government employees or their pregnant spouses who are covered under State’s medical program have been offered medical evacuation from areas under CDC travel alerts for Zika or have the option of shortening their tours of duty. And Maryland public health officials said Thursday that they anticipate more cases in the state.

Health officials in Yolo County were quick to reassure anxious residents, reports ABC 7, noting that the infected resident got the virus after traveling outside of the United States.

Doctors in Slovenia found the entire genome of the mosquito-borne virus during the autopsy of an aborted 32-week foetus, which had suspected microcephaly.

For more on Zika virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.