Nebraska’s first confirmed Zika virus cases: Douglas & Sarpy counties

Mosquitoes that can transmit the Zika virus are found in the US, but so far aside from the Dallas sexual transmission case all the infections reported in the continental United States have been among travelers who got infected elsewhere.

The issue is that many people who contract Zika virus might not know they have it. Only 1 in 5 people who have Zika develop symptoms, and those symptoms are typically mild: fatigue, aches, pain, and a skin rash.

So, the agency is advising men returning from Zika virus affected areas to use condoms, or abstain from sex with their pregnant partner through duration of her pregnancy. For non-pregnant women and men with a non-pregnant partner traveling to Zika-affected areas, the CDC recommends condoms or abstention.

Concern about the virus was elevated following reports of increased cases of a serious birth defect known as microcephaly that may be associated with Zika virus infection among pregnant women.

Two weeks ago, the CDC recommended that pregnant women postpone trips to countries with Zika outbreaks, which are occurring in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

“If they come back to the area and they have symptoms of Zika virus, that’s where it can spread apparently there are a few cases now where it has been transmitted from not casual contact but through sexual contact”, said Sweeney. This link has not been confirmed but is considered a very strong possibility and has prompted health officials to take cautionary steps to protect fetuses from the virus. Up to this time, the mosquito that carries the disease has not been found in Pennsylvania. This warning is to be observed for the entire pregnancy, since it is unclear how long the virus can survive in semen. One case was spread from a man to a woman, before the man showed any symptoms.

Those precautions should also be considered by couples who may be starting a family if the man has potentially been exposed to the virus.

Officials in Rockland County have confirmed their first case of the Zika virus.

“We are quite literally discovering more about Zika each and every day”, Frieden said. Providers should consult CDC’s guidelines for evaluation and testing of pregnant women.

Zika virus primarily is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on a person already infected with the virus.