CDC to study Zika-microcephaly link

The Zika Virus is spread by mosquitoes in some South and Central American countries.

Joint teams of US and Brazilian health workers will fan out across one of Brazil’s poorest states Tuesday in search of mothers and infants for a study aimed at determining whether the Zika virus is causing babies to be born with unusually small heads.

But in pregnant women, the consequences could be dire.

The slowdown started in mid-January following a travel warning from the U.S. government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; this advised pregnant women to postpone travel to those destinations where there is evidence of active transmission of the virus.

The medical profession has known about Zika since 1947, and the virus has been known to cause muscle pain, rashes and fever. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Yolo County will not be releasing information about the patient, like the individual’s gender, but can confirm that the individual is not pregnant. Health officials think Zika might be connected to the rise in birth defects in the Americas, though it has not yet been proven.

“We are doing this because I believe it’s a good way to communicate the risk, to tell people that there could be serious consequences”, said Alejandro Gaviria, Colombia’s health minister, who is one of those health experts urging their local women to delay pregnancies six to eight months, as per ABC News.

Recent measures to isolate the spread of the virus have included blasting mosquitoes – which spread it – with gamma rays, The Guardian reports.

Researchers Adam Craig, Michelle Butler, Roberta Pastmore, Beverley Paterson and David Durrheim’s research paper reported there were 49 confirmed cases of Zika in Yap in 2007, and no associated deaths were recorded. They also note the microcephaly spike appears to be largely restricted to Brazil, with few cases reported in other countries with Zika outbreaks, such as neighboring Colombia. “The mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus are daytime biters, so it is important to apply prevention measures throughout the day as well as during the evening hours”. Officials have not said which states they are working with or where these women live because the risk applies to all women in the United States, according to Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy incident manager for Zika virus at the CDC. We should expect to see more cases.

Cuban President Raul Castro called on his people to help prevent the entry of the Zika virus in the island while dispatching 9,000 troops to strengthen vector control and sanitation efforts.

In February, the CDC confirmed the virus had been transmitted to the sexual partner of an individual in Texas who had traveled to a Zika infected area – a first for this outbreak but not a first in and of itself.