Cuba mobilizes security forces to prevent Zika outbreak

The illness usually resolves itself within a couple weeks of infection, and the virus usually doesn’t require hospitalization, according to the CDC.

There are now 28 cases of Zika in the state of Florida, including one in St. Johns County and one in Alachua County. Most people who are infected never know it, but the Mason County traveler fell ill with typical symptoms upon his return to Washington, Yu said. Health officials advise women who are pregnant or who might become pregnant to consider delaying travel or to be especially careful in avoiding mosquito bites in Zika-affected areas.

No Zika transmissions from mosquitoes in the United States have been reported, but there have been cases involving people who carried the disease back after traveling to other countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However there has been an increase in the number of babies in south and central America have been born with a small skull, a condition called “microcephaly”. The Brazilian scientists said they are looking into the possibility the Zika virus can cause other types of developmental problems. If traveling to any one of these areas is utterly unavoidable, the agencies urge residents to take extra preventative measures to protect themselves against mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves and long trousers, using air conditioning, wearing mosquito repellant and emptying standing water. Studies have found poor pregnancy outcomes in some babies whose mothers were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. Although the infection itself causes only mild symptoms, a rapidly spreading outbreak in the Americas in 2015, associated with a birth defect and neurological disorders, led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on February 1.

To find out more about the disease, UA epidemiologist and assistant professor at the College of Public Health, Heidi Brown, answered questions put forth by the Daily Wildcat.

He is among 82 people nationwide who contracted the mosquito-borne infection while traveling to areas where the virus has exploded.

“Previous studies have identified Zika virus in the saliva, breast milk and urine of mothers and their newborn babies, after having given birth”, said study author Dr. Ana de Filippis, from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro.