CDC Expands Zika Virus Travel Alert

According to a statement released late Thursday, ACOG is urging pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy to follow Zika virus travel and health guidelines recently issued by the CDC.

Infants are most at risk from Zika, as mothers can pass the infection on to their fetus, leading to microcephaly – a rare birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and developmental delays.

Researchers in Brazil said on Wednesday they had found new evidence linking the virus to increasing incidence of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with unusually 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.

An adult who contracts Zika may experience a slight fever and a rash, as well as and pain in the joints and behind the eyes. However, one challenge for public health officials is that 80 percent of people infected with Zika are asymptomatic.

In Colombia, there are 560 known cases of pregnant women who are infected with the Zika virus, and who are being closely monitored by health workers.

Dr Hilary Kirkbride, travel and migrant health expert at PHE, said: “The symptoms of Zika are similar to other mosquito-borne infections such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria so laboratory testing is essential for the correct diagnosis”.

Preventative measures focus on general mosquito bite prevention, such as using insecticides, and special nets and screens.

What’s the best way to avoid catching Zika virus? “That’s why pregnant women and women who are considering pregnancy should delay planned travel to areas where Zika virus outbreaks are ongoing”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday warned the virus is spread through mosquito bites and there are no vaccines to prevent the spread and no drugs to treat those affected.

This 2003 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes albopictus mosquito acquiring a blood meal from a human host.

Up to 2014, Brazil saw no more than 200 cases of microcephaly, however, since the Zika outbreak in 2015, the country has recorded almost 3,000 cases.

The Ministry Officials said at a news conference last week that the number of deformed babies had risen to 49.

Around 1.5 million people in Brazil have been infected in just eight months and 14 countries across South and Central America, including Barbados and Mexico, have reported locally-acquired cases.

In March 2015 an Italian traveller contracted Zika virus after he visited Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.