Zika virus: 6 things to know now

The L.A. County Department of Public Health says pregnant women who have traveled to those regions and who have “symptoms suggestive of Zika virus infection during or within two weeks of travel” should get get tested.

It also was the first confirmed case of a person contracting the virus within the continental United States.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) declares a global health emergency, the virus has been linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly in Brazil, which causes babies to be born with shrunken heads and small brains. The virus is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted.

Dallas County Health and Human Services says they are awaiting results of four additional Zika tests. The Aedes aegypti mosquito that is the primary vector of Zika virus infections is present in the southeast portion of the country, including Florida, though in winter the mosquito populations are low.

Only about 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus show symptoms of illness.

Heightened concern follows the revelation that the Zika Virus was spread through sexual contact here in the US.

For now, the most important action in infected areas was to try to control mosquitoes and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bed nets, he said.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday called for more efforts to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, describing it as a “real threat” against the country. “It’s telling people that you’re state government is going to be prepared”, Scott said. There has only been one case of transmission within the USA, involving an individual who had sexual intercourse with someone recently back from Latin America.

Mirror Online reports tourists returning from nations affected by Zika – which causes microcephaly, or shrunken skulls, in babies – have been told they can not donate blood for a month.