Is Zika Virus In New York?

Spread by mosquitoes, Zika virus been linked to surge in babies born in Brazil with smaller than normal heads, a rare condition known as microcephaly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is adding travel advisories for more countries because of the Zika virus.

As of now people are bringing the virus back to America from being affected in other countries, but health officials said it is not a matter of if but when mosquitoes in the United States will contract the disease.

The agency issued a warning to pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America affected by the virus.

Acute symptoms of Zika can last from four to seven days and includes fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, eyeball pain, weakness, red rash consisting of small bumps, swelling in the lower limbs, anorexia, vomiting and diarrhea, abdominal pain and conjunctivitis. Pregnant women who must travel to one of these areas should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional first and strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip.

There is no vaccine or antiviral medicine available for Zika virus.

The virus was discovered in Uganda in 1947, according to The Telegraph, and has been an issue only in Africa and Asia.

Meanwhile in El Salvador, health officials are piecing together whether the virus is also associated with a jump in cases of Guillain Barré syndrome.

“Certainly in the next few months, we’ll start to see more (Bay Area) people” being tested, said Dr. Jeffrey Silvers, who is in charge of quality, pharmacy/therapeutic and infection prevention for all of Sutter Health’s 26 hospitals and more than 300 clinics. “It’s incredibly naive for a government to ask women to postpone getting pregnant in a context such as Colombia, where more than 50% of pregnancies are unplanned and across the region where sexual violence is prevalent”, Women’s Link Worldwide member Monica Roa told the BBC.

World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said 3,893 microcephaly cases have been reported in Brazil, along with 49 deaths.

The warning came on Monday after epidemiological data showed that the number of countries showing confirmed cases had doubled between December 1, 2015 and January 17, 2016; a difference of only eight weeks. “If they decide to get pregnant then take the necessary measures to protect mothers during their pregnancy they cover a large part of their bodies so they are not exposed to the mosquito which could cause Zika and a child with microcephaly”, he said.