Indiana health officials report 1st case of Zika virus

“Two more cases of travel-related Zika virus have been confirmed, bringing the statewide number to 16, according to the Florida Department of Health on Monday”.

The White House says the funds will be used to expand mosquito control programs, speed vaccine development, create diagnostic tests, and improve support programs for low-income pregnant women in affected countries.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Zika can spread through those body fluids, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. “What we can do, and the CDC can do, is give them the facts”.

The issue is so critical that in El Salvador, women are being advised to delay getting pregnant until 2018.

In countries affected by Zika outbreaks, there has also been an increase in cases of microcephaly.

Hospitalizations and fatalities are rare, with symptoms such as rash and fever lasting from a few days to one week. Most of the emphasis in educating the public about the disease has focused on pregnant women, who risk having children with birth defects if they are exposed – though the link between Zika and the defects hasn’t been proven by scientists.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is advising athletes to listen to the CDC, while Olympic officials in Rio are trying to downplay the threat. “Additionally, we’re taking steps to ensure that our delegation and those affiliated with Team USA are aware of the CDC’s recommendations regarding travel to Brazil”. But for pregnant women, it could lead to the profound birth defect called Microephaly, which is why officials want to get ahead of the spread of the virus in the U.S. “They have to assure us that the country is safe enough to take athletes there”, the head of Kenya’s Olympics committee, Kipchoge Keino, told Reuters.

Nationally, 35 cases of Zika virus have been reported in 12 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some athletes have expressed concern about the virus.

Couples in which a man resides in or has traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission who are concerned about sexual transmission of Zika virus may consider using condoms consistently and correctly during sex or abstaining from sexual activity.