Health officials confirm Zika virus cases in MI and Florida

If a doctor spotted hydrops alone, “you might not immediately attribute it to Zika virus because what has been described are brain abnormalities”, said Dr. Sallie Permar of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, an expert on maternal-fetal viral infections who wasn’t involved with the Brazil case.

They believe since it is likely large numbers of pregnant Brazilian women and those in other affected countries will be exposed to the same strain of Zika their case study was, more investigation is needed into the risk of stillbirth.

The Zika virus is mainly spread by mosquito bites – sexual transmission has been considered rare.

She said if anyone in the Depot Hill area experienced symptoms that could be related to Zika virus in the next two weeks, they should contact their local GP. These mosquitoes aren’t established in Iowa, but are in areas of ongoing Zika transmission – Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Central and South America and the Pacific Islands. The message from health officials: Please don’t freak out.

“Now that all these birth defects and associated conditions have come out, Zika is turning into a game-changer”, said Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, an assistant professor in Emory University’s Department of Environmental Sciences, CNN reported.

The CDC announced on Tuesday that US health officials are investigating 14 cases.

The CDC said Zika fever is generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain. The virus was spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which also was the vector for dengue and yellow fever. They also need participation as controls of two to three times as many mothers from the same areas who delivered babies without microcephaly at about the same time.

The Ingham County woman with the illness is not pregnant, MDHHS says.

The confirmation comes as Japan has beefed up its efforts to prevent the virus from entering the country. The insects are found in tropical and sub-tropical climates and the virus was first identified almost 70 years ago in Uganda.

The teenager stayed in the South American country from February 9 through Saturday for sightseeing with his family, returning home on Monday, the ministry said. In particular, microcephaly – babies born with heads smaller than normal – has been a worry with Zika.