Health Department confirms first WA Zika case

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveler was infected with Zika.

So far, scientists in Europe and the US have not received enough data or samples from Brazil to conduct research, according to the AP, noting that it is against Brazilian law to share blood samples containing the virus or other genetic material.

The CDC is also urging pregnant women and those who are trying to become pregnant to avoid traveling to any regions affected by the virus.

Zika is carried by mosquitoes in tropical and sub-tropical environments, meaning Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia could be pathways for the disease.

While public health experts said it’s very unlikely the Zika virus will establish itself in Los Angeles County, they want everyone to do what they can to reduce the mosquito population. The state health department said four cases have been reported in Miami-Dade, two each in Hillsborough and Lee and one in Santa Rosa.

Most people with the Zika virus don’t show symptoms, making it relatively hard to detect and easy to spread.

The World Health Organisation has declared an worldwide emergency over the virus and its link to birth defects, with fears as many as four million people could be infected this year.

Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden, the neuro-pediatrician who first recognized the microcephaly crisis in Brazil, measures the head of a 2-month-old baby with microcephaly.

The HSE said that while nearly all cases of Zika virus are acquired via mosquito bites, one case of sexual transmission of Zika virus has been reported internationally. Signs and symptoms of Zika may include a low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, reddening of the eyes, body aches, headache, eye pain, and vomiting.

Both had travelled to a country affected by the virus and both have now fully recovered.