Men who were in Zika areas should use condoms — CDC

Florida’s history of fighting off mosquito-borne outbreaks puts the state in perhaps better position than most when it comes to the Zika virus. It said it was reinforcing instructions to blood banks that people infected with Zika or dengue not be permitted to donate blood for 30 days after their full recovery from the active stage of Zika infection.

Many doctors and health officials believe the Zika virus is linked to an unprecedented outbreak of babies born with small heads in Brazil.

Women were previously warned to avoid Zika-hit countries if pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant.

The discovery adds to concern that Zika, which is predominantly spread by the Aedis aegypti mosquito, could also be transmitted by other means, particularly sex. Testing of people who traveled to affected areas and have experienced symptoms is ongoing.

Problems arise in South America, however, where women between the age of 15 and 45 are becoming exposed to the virus for the first time. The state has about 500 tests on hand.

“We need to practice that now”, Thompson said. The virus has also crept into Hawaii, Illinois, Florida and Arkansas.

In addition, another Zika-infected traveler – someone in Florida, who recently had been to Central America – has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a CDC official said.

“This is especially likely if he developed symptoms of Zika virus disease”, read a statement from the Health Protection Surveillance Agency, the specialist diseases agency in predominantly Catholic Ireland. That may change as the seasons change, though.

The virus causes fever, rash and achy joints. However, the link between Zika and microcephaly is as yet unproven.

“At present Zika has no specific treatment or vaccination”, the ministry pointed out.

The most common way to get the virus is through mosquito bites, however there are reports of transmission through sexual contact.

Carrico said the outlook in Kentucky isn’t imminently concerning, but a look at other countries’ responses to the virus should serve as a reminder that preparation and planning are important. But the number of locally acquired cases statewide dropped to six the following year and just one last year. One is a Monroe County resident and the rest live downstate.

“I’ve never seen this advice before, and when you hear it, you think, ‘What are the bishops going to do?'” said the Rev. John Paris, who is a priest at Boston College.