Zika poses huge potential threat to pregnant women in Mexico

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a Hudson County woman who traveled to Honduras became infected, but there is no public health risk because she was exposed to mosquitoes there, state officials said Monday.

The report from the health district said the woman, who is in her 20s, was in an area where the Zika virus is present and was diagnosed here in Spokane.

“The antibodies cross the placenta barrier”, Bhayani said, and can lead to microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with brain damage and small heads.

The New Jersey Department of Health will hold a series of public education meetings to explain the risk of the virus to pregnant women, … Less commonly, Zika can also be transmitted by sexual activity, in a similar manner to an STD, or from affected mother to her unborn child.

For CDC’s Zika-related travel advisory list of impacted countries and territories, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/active-countries.html. Within two weeks of exposure, one in five infected persons will develop fever, rash, conjunctivitis (red eyes) and joint aches that usually resolve within a week.

Researchers are continuing to investigate the possible link between Zika and microcephaly, reported mainly in Brazil, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

All the cases so far have been travel-related, but the virus can be spread by bites from mosquitoes that are common in Florida. Mosquito coils or other insecticide vaporizers may also reduce the likelihood of being bitten.

Dr. Seema Yasmin, the Dallas Morning News’ medical expert, said there are still many unanswered questions about the Zika virus, including how long it can remain in the body.

Most of the cases were identified in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, according to a health ministry report. Men returning from an area with Zika who have a pregnant partner, or who have a partner whose pregnancy status may not yet be known, should use a condom during sex or not have sex during pregnancy. It then migrated into the Western Hemisphere in May 2015, and the virus has now spread throughout tropical areas of Central and South America and many countries in the Caribbean. In a Feb 26 statement PAHO said a new algorithm for lab detection, based on an established platform for dengue surveillance, will contribute to more accurate diagnosis and more efficient Zika virus surveillance.