First case of Zika virus reported in Iowa

“While travel-related cases don’t present a public health threat to North Carolina, we always actively monitor emerging global situations and adjust resources to meet needs”.

That brings the total number of countries or territories on the list to 32, including Puerto Rico, Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico.

“The Aedes mosquito that transmit the Zika virus in South America also transmit the dengue fever and yellow fever, but this viruses are not found in South Africa, indicating that the local Aedes mosquito does not contribute to the spread of the Zika virus”, Motsoaledi said.

Aylward said researchers would likely be able to prove more quickly that Zika causes Guillain-Barre than microcephaly, since surges in the syndrome are believed to be lagging only about three weeks after spikes in Zika infections.

The older adult (61 to 80 years of age) female has a travel history to Central America.

For pregnant women, however, the virus can cause, among other problem, microcephaly, a defect in which the baby’s head is abnormally small.

A woman who returned to Texas from El Salvador recently gave birth to a baby affected by the virus and there is concern that native mosquitos across the southern United States could spread the virus.

What Does the Virus Do? The virus usually causes only mild symptoms including fever. Most people exposed to Zika virus won’t develop any symptoms at all. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

“We have no doubt that the epidemic of microcephaly that we are seeing in Brazil is caused by the Zika virus outbreak”, Castro told reporters on the sidelines of Thursday’s meeting.

Travelers visiting areas where Zika transmissions have occurred are encouraged to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, use EPA-registered insect repellents, use permethrin-treated clothing, stay and sleep in screened-in or air-conditioned rooms and limit outdoor activities during peak mosquito times.

Another method being studied is infecting mosquitos with a bacteria, the Wolbachia, that does not infect humans and that can prevent mosquito eggs from hatching and can reduce a mosquito’s ability to transmit a virus. The Aedes albopictus species has also been identified as a potential carrier.

There are no treatments or vaccines for the virus. An outbreak of the disease in Brazil led to an alert by the Pan American Health Organization last May.

Orange County is the latest county to report a travel-associated case of Zika, the state health department announced on Friday.

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