Brazil links three deaths to suspected Zika-related complications

CDC officials have made clear that they expect the Zika virus to spread deeper into the US because of the high frequency of travel between the USA and affected countries in Central and South America.

Earlier this week, a pregnant woman in Queensland state was also diagnosed with Zika after traveling overseas. The legislation lifts restrictions on the remaining funds to allow them to be spent for response and preparedness related to the Zika virus.

The study lacks hard proof of any link with Zika and vision abnormalities, but as a precaution, the authors recommend routine vision testing in infants born with microcephaly in areas where Zika infections have occurred.

“I am actively trying to get pregnant with my husband, so I am a little bit concerned”, said Erica, a respondent who said she was bitten by a mosquito during a January trip to the US Virgin Islands, where Zika has been reported.

Dr. Hansa Bhargava, a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta pediatrician and medical editor of WebMD says she thinks women planning a family are getting the message. They also genetically sequenced the virus, which could help further research into the suspected link.

Although it is too cold right now for mosquito bites in the state, Irwin said concern will grow this summer when mosquitoes are rampant, and an estimated 200,000 USA citizens travel to Brazil for the Olympics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday that a person who lives in Yolo County has tested positive for Zika virus, according to Yolo County.

Pennsylvania and DE reported their first cases of Zika this week.

Officials did not release many more details other than that the woman in DE was not pregnant, but Philadelphia’s health department is not aware of any cases among area residents. Zika is associated with relatively mild symptoms, except for pregnant women. According to the CDC, about only one in five people will display symptoms. The World Health Organization declared an emergency over the cases last week, prompting research and aid to be fast-tracked. Soccer games, unlike the other Olympic events, are held outside of Rio where the mosquito population that can transmit Zika and other diseases is much larger.

The discovery doesn’t prove the Zika virus is the cause of thousands of cases of microcephaly in Brazilian babies since the spring. The danger is for pregnant women.

“We’re continuing to learn what this virus really means”, Armstrong said. “Local transmission of Zika by mosquitoes is very unlikely, given the weather and environmental conditions”.