Pregnant woman is second Zika case in Los Angeles County

Fourteen US cases of possible sexual transmission of the Zika virus are now under investigation by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency announced last week.

The real concern is for pregnant women because Zika virus has been known to be linked to microcephaly and other birth defects in babies. Two of the other women had miscarriages, and two others made a decision to terminate their pregnancies; in at least one of the terminated pregnancies, there were early signs of abnormalities in the fetus, Dr. Denise Jamieson, a researcher at the CDC and an author of the new report, told reporters at a news conference today (Feb. 26).

The public health agency has been urging pregnant women for several weeks to avoid traveling to places where the Zika virus is spreading. It said all three women were not symptomatic when they arrived in Florida and all showed signs of a remote Zika infection based on blood tests.

Because the couples were not living in locations where Zika is known to be spread by mosquitos, it’s presumed the virus was spread through unprotected sex. Either use condoms the right way, every time, or do not have sex during your pregnancy.

Though these developments may seem alarming, the risk of Zika infection in the United States remains low. Scientists are continuing to find new signs of a link between Zika and microcephaly, a serious birth defect in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls, he said. Only about 1 in 5 people infected with Zika will actually become ill and for most people, this illness will be mild with symptoms lasting less than a week.

Microcephaly is a birth defect associated with undersized heads and developmental problems.

Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to Zika-affected regions.

Zika infection is also believed to increase the risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a progressive paralysis from which most people eventually recover.

Public Health officials said while no local transmission has not occurred in Los Angeles County, the Aedes mosquito that can transmit Zika is present in the San Gabriel Valley and in the Eastern part of the County.

A Missoula woman has Montana’s first diagnosed case of the Zika virus.

“What the general public hears is that, ‘If I had Zika, I’m going to have a baby with microcephaly, ‘” DeMaria says.

Among the cases the CDC reported Friday, women who developed the symptoms of Zika-fever, rash, aches, eye irritation-in their first trimester were worst affected.