Pregnant women advised not to go to the Olympics

– The CDC said nine pregnant women in the US have contracted lab-confirmed Zika virus disease, and the agency is investigating 10 additional cases.

The number of USA women who have become infected by the Zika virus through sexual intercourse has risen to three – a reality that will complicate efforts to control the spread of the disease, which typically is transmitted through mosquitoes.

“Health officials and providers have been vigilant in following CDC guidelines and are taking appropriate precautions to test all travelers with symptoms consistent with Zika virus and all pregnant women who have traveled to areas with Zika transmission”. Two more chose to terminate the pregnancies, including one woman who learned, at 20 weeks, that the fetus appeared to have severe brain abnormalities.

Pregnant women who have traveled to the Zika zone can and should be tested between two and twelve weeks of retuning to the U-S. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis.

“Absolutely devastating. I mean, to get the news that you are pregnant-you are so excited, you are expecting a new baby, a new addition to your family, and then to hear that you’ve miscarried would just be devastating”, Rupp said. Two women who experienced symptoms later in their pregnancies delivered healthy babies.

Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly in babies. It said that a total of 52 countries and territories have reported local transmission of Zika virus between January 2007 and February 2016. Her comment came during a telebriefing on Zika held Friday by the CDC.

Men returning from a Zika-infected area should abstain from sex or use a condom. It recommends that pregnant women postpone trips to those areas.

Health officials say the mosquito-borne virus causes only mild illnesses in most people.

Frieden said the agency did not anticipate so many cases of sexual transmission. If they travel with a male partner, there is a risk for sexual transmission of Zika.

Pregnant women and their male sex partners should discuss potential Zika exposure, including any history of Zika-like infection, with the woman’s doctor. Like the other nine, these are women who traveled to Zika-infected areas and returned to the United States.

“Even though the [U.S.] numbers are small, they are of considerable interest”, Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, said during a news conference Friday.