Zika Virus Causes Brain Damage To Hawaii Baby: First U.S. Case

Neither the baby nor the mother are infectious, and there was never a risk of transmission in Hawaii, officials said. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in particular cautioned pregnant women not to travel to those areas as Zika has been linked to serious birth defects. Those who were born had small heads, a rare condition known as microcephaly. “That’s pretty good evidence that, at least in those children with microcephaly, there was Zika virus in their brains”. While Brazil had an average of 156 babies born each year between 2010 and 2014 with microcephaly, 2015 saw more than 3,000 instances. Physicians are required by the state to report any cases that may be the Zika virus or any of over 75 other reportable diseases. Travelers and people who live in the affected countries should make the most of available precautions, such as eliminating standing water, staying indoors, wearing long sleeves and long trousers and applying mosquito repellent to avoid bites. The species of mosquitoes biologically capable of transmitting the virus, however, are present in the United States.

Those symptoms appear within three to 12 days of the mosquito bite but in 80 per cent of cases the infection goes unnoticed, and it is very rarely fatal.

The alert recommends that women who are pregnant postpone travel to those areas, and that women wanting to become pregnant consult their doctors before setting out on any trip to those areas.

According to the Center For Disease Control, about one in five people infected with the Zika virus actually develop the disease and become sick.

Cases of the Zika virus are prevalent in the tropical regions of the world.

Here’s a rundown of important information about the Zika virus and how it is spread.

In the Hawaii case, a doctor recognised the possibility of a Zika infection in the newborn baby and alerted state officials, the health department said.

Earlier this week, a case of Zika virus was confirmed in a person who had recently traveled to Latin America.

Evidence of a rise of birth defects in Brazil has health experts concerned the virus is far more risky than people initially realized.

On Saturday, Barbados reported its first case.

Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, thinks a travel warning is wise, but said people shouldn’t assume they will get infected if they visit Brazil.

Petersen said United States experience to date with similar mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya suggests that facets of the North American lifestyle – living in air-conditioned homes and dwellings with screens on windows and doors – should limit how much the virus would spread here.

The countries and territories named by the CDC Friday are jurisdictions where Zika virus transmission has been confirmed.

It will take months for scientists to fully understand how and why Zika might cause birth defects and to figure out why it had not been noticed before.