First case of Montana Zika virus reported in a Missoula woman

Pregnancy outcomes among the nine confirmed cases included two early pregnancy losses, two elective terminations, and three live births (two apparently healthy infants and one infant with severe microcephaly); two pregnancies (approximately 18 weeks’ and 34 weeks’ gestation) are continuing without known complications.

In both cases, the person was infected while traveling outside the country to an area of ongoing transmission, officials said.

The agency also said pregnant women should consider not traveling to the Summer Olympics in Brazil, calling the situation with the virus there “dynamic”.

The main concern is for pregnant women with The Centers for Disease Control cautioning that Zika could be linked to birth defects – but this is not proven at this point.

The Missoula Public Health Department was notified on Thursday that a local woman has tested positive for the Zika virus.

The Zika virus is spread mainly by mosquito bites and causes mild illness or no symptoms in most people.

It appears that pregnant women in their first trimester are the most vulnerable.

The other woman who underwent abortion also contacted the infection during the first trimester of her pregnancy.

The nine women in the US identified to have acquired Zika virus were among the 257 women who requested for Zika virus testing.

All the pregnant women who got the virus traveled to an affected region.

There have been nine pregnant women in the United States infected with the Zika virus – and the number is likely to rise. This is in line with existing recommendations for pregnant women to postpone travel to areas where the virus is being transmitted.

Frieden emphasized that proving a Zika-microcephaly connection is complicated, as there may be other factors involved, as well.

There is no vaccine to prevent Zika virus disease and no specific medical treatment for people who are infected.

“We did not expect to see these brain abnormalities in this small case series of USA pregnant travelers, so it is unexpected and greater than we would have expected”, Jamieson said.

The CDC recommends that men who recently visited a country with the virus use a latex condom or don’t have sex with their pregnant partners.

So far, 107 travel-related Zika infections have been diagnosed in 24 states and the District of Columbia, including the pregnant woman.