Health officials confirm 12th case of Zika virus in state

The virus is known to be transmitted by bites from infected mosquitoes, sexual contact and blood transfusions. Common symptoms of Zika virus include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). Gary Edwards, executive director, Salt Lake County Health Department, looks on during a news conference Monday, July 18, 2016, in Salt Lake City.

Unlike the case of the elderly Utah man, who was dubbed by investigators as “the index patient”, the family member who also contracted the Zika virus has responded very well to the medical treatment he has received.

The elderly relative who died after contracting Zika overseas had amounts of the virus in his blood more than 100,000 times higher than other samples of infected people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials say they are not aware of any mosquitoes in Utah that are capable of transmitting the virus.

The Bureau for Public Health is not releasing additional information pertaining to this case to protect the privacy of the patient. But health officials said neither appears to have played a role in this case.

He or she had cared for the older man both at home and in the hospital. The man likely caught the virus recently while in Puerto Rico, a US territory known to have mosquitoes infected with the Zika virus. Partners of pregnant women are also advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.

“However, there’s a lot we don’t know about Zika virus, and we are still doing a lot of investigation into whether Zika can be spread from person to person through contact with a sick person”, said Pillai.

“We know bodily fluids like saliva and urine can harbor the virus, he said”. All previously reported cases of sexually transmitted Zika infection have been spread from men. Zika can cause birth defects including microcephaly, in which the brain and head of an infant are smaller than usual.

The Pan American Health Organization reports that 40 countries in the Americas now have local transmission of the Zika virus. USA officials from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) said they are monitoring this unusual situation and carrying out more tests to understand the way of infecting. To check if the country you may be visiting is experiencing Zika virus, check the CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/active-countries.html. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week, though there can be profound impact to a developing fetus should the mother contract the virus.