ACOG Supports the CDC’s Travel Warnings tied to Zika

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention issued initial travel warnings to pregnant women last week, adding eight more places to the list on Friday.

The virus, for which there is no known cure, is thought to cause microcephaly in unborn children, a condition which stops babies’ brains growing and causes abnormally small heads. Due to the potential link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, the ACOG is recommending medical professionals to take more detailed patient histories for their female patients who are pregnant or have plans to get pregnant.

Zika illness can cause fever, rash and joint pain but most people infected by mosquito bites don’t show symptoms.

It also reported that the person infected is a 42-year-old woman with no history of previous travel during the incubation period of the virus.

So far 21 countries and territories in the region have reported cases of Zika, more than double the number only one month ago, according to January 21 figures cited by an expert from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the regional arm of the WHO.

She said: “All travellers, especially pregnant women going to the Americas, should ensure they seek travel health advice from their GP or a travel clinic well in advance of their trip”. A few cases have popped up in the US, from people who had recently traveled to South America.

Cases in Brazil, Hawaii, El Salvador and Venezuela were reported over the past two months, the EDCD said, while a total of 27 countries reported cases of the Zika virus in the last nine months.

-Brand examples of insect repellents include Off!, Cutter, Sawyer, Ultrathon, Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus, Autan, and Repel (safe for pregnant women). It has been found in some pockets of the islands and is blamed for an ongoing outbreak on the Big Island of the dengue virus, which is spread the same way as Zika.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of cases of Zika in several other Latin American countries. But theres been mounting evidence linking the virus to a surge of a rare birth defect in Brazil.

Three people in NY tested positive for the virus, according to the State Department of Health. “We knew when it was out in the Pacific when there were outbreaks of Guillain-Barre it was occurring at the same time”, Schaffner said.

This virus is spread by mosquitoes in tropical parts of the world.

While there is no vaccine to prevent Zika or medicine to treat it, the CDC advised that travelers can protect themselves from the disease by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites.