Pa. steps up monitoring efforts of Zika virus

The warning comes because health officials are concerned about a strong link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and a birth defect called microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and face lifelong cognitive impairments. How does Zika infect people? Even if their partner is not pregnant, they may want to consider taking such steps, the CDC said.

Disinsection involves spraying a simple insecticide inside the aircraft to reduce the risk of passengers being bitten by any mosquitoes that could have entered the aircraft.

In a statement (in Spanish), the health ministry said the pregnant woman was diagnosed as having Zika in the north-eastern Catalonia region.

Furthermore, pregnant women who haven’t displayed any symptoms should be tested if they’ve traveled an area with active transmission of Zika.

The health agency also on Friday updated its guidelines for testing and monitoring pregnant women who have travelled to Zika areas.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was asking governments in Zika-affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to repeal any policies that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released interim recommendations to avoid sexually transmitting the Zika virus.

And with new research showing the virus is detected in urine, and saliva, the conversations on Zika are just beginning. “Some will be pregnant women”. This is a virus whose flu-like symptoms generally diminish in a matter of days, with no known lasting consequences for those who aren’t pregnant.

This week the World Health Organization declared Zika a global public health emergency after it was linked to brain deformities in babies in South America.

“Because there now is no vaccine or treatment for Zika virus, the best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites”, CDC said in its advisory. Guidance for pediatricians treating infants whose mothers may have been infected with Zika virus has not changed.

In two additional cases, the virus was presumably transmitted to females through sexual activity.

Frieden said the United States should “expect a lot more travel-related cases” as the weeks and months go by.

“Because this phenomenon is so new, we are, quite literally, discovering more and more about it each and every day”, Frieden told reporters.