NYC officials meet about Zika virus preparedness

“As of today, Brazil and Columbia have been the most affected with an estimated cases ranging between 600,000 and 1,700,000”. However, the virus has been connected to microcephaly, a neurological disorder that results in babies being born with abnormally small heads.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that there are no locally acquired vector-borne case in the United States, according to cdc.gov/zika, although there are nine cases in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Army Medicine is tracking this outbreak to assess the risks to the Soldiers and their Families. Women who are already in those countries should take precautions to protect themselves from mosquitoes, which are the main way that the disease is transmitted, Frieden said.

SOUTHCOM is also offering voluntary relocation to all pregnant DOD employees and beneficiaries. She told reporters after a briefing with Senate leaders Tuesday that “we need to finish the job in terms of Ebola” and focus separately on the Zika virus. Residents who have travelled to an area with Zika infection should contact their personal healthcare provider who will work with the Putnam County Department of Health to facilitate the proper testing procedure through the state Department of Health laboratory at Wadsworth Center. The virus has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly.

The virus is most commonly transmitted when an Aedes aegypti mosquito bites a person with an active infection and then spreads the virus by biting others.

That’s why the major concern continues to be for pregnant women who travel to tropical climates.

Danny Staley, director of North Carolina Division of Public Health, says conference calls and contingency plans have been set up just in case the virus turns up in the state.

“A woman was in earlier and she’s going to Costa Rica, so she was concerned”, said Natalie Hudson.

Worldwide health organizations are mobilizing to respond to growing outbreaks of the Zika virus. Many people do not realize they have been infected because the symptoms are mild.

Only about one in five people infected with Zika virus will actually become ill, according to the CDC. On Wednesday, European researchers caring for a woman who returned there from Brazil reported a post-abortion autopsy that found the virus in her fetus’ severely damaged brain – one a fraction of the proper size and lacking the usual crinkly folds.

Ms Hennesey stressed that the Zika virus poses no public health risk to anyone else as it is not present in Australian mosquitoes.

Also, the CDC recommends following these steps to prevent mosquito bites. Rarely, the virus may spread from mother to infant around the time of birth.

Although the link has not been scientifically proven and myriad questions remain, Castro said the half-year gap between the virus outbreak in South America’s largest country and the spike in reported cases of microcephaly was not a coincidence.