Zika virus may hide in organs protected from the immune system

In Brazil, an epicenter of the outbreak, the spike in cases has coincided with a mysterious rise in cases of microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, in newborn children. They detected Zika virus 62 days after the initial infection, but they were not able to confirm whether it could still infect another person.

It is primarily transmitted through a mosquito bite, and there is no indication that it can spread from person-to-person through casual contact.

The confirmation comes after a pregnant woman in the northern state of Queensland was diagnosed with the virus on Tuesday.

“I would suggest that all women who are in that age group and are going down there to travel, don’t”, says Bhargava.

CDC, a Department of Health and Human Services arm, has warned pregnant women to avoid travelling to places where the virus is reportedly spreading quickly-countries in South America, Central America, and Carribean.

But critics have said the move would not helping reduce mosquito numbers or stop the spread of Zika, our correspondent adds. Zika’s extremely mild symptoms present complications, since in many cases, people don’t even realize that they’ve had the virus at all and the moment for testing accurately passes. “There is no vaccine available for Zika virus so it’s important for Ohioans traveling to affected areas to take steps to prevent mosquito bites”. The U.N. health agency also for the first time advised pregnant women to consider delaying travel to Zika-affected areas.

The finding raises new questions for health authorities as they scramble to learn more about Zika – linked to a surge in birth defects in Brazil – and the risk of transmission through sex.

Scientists are still working to determine whether there is a conclusive link between the virus and microcephaly and other neurological disorders. Researchers have identified evidence of Zika infection in 41 of these cases, either in the baby or in the mother. Sporadic cases of infection acquired via this route have already been reported in the literature.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed, Wednesday, the link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, the congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.

Most of the people infected with Zika so far live on the the eastern side of the island or around the populous capital of San Juan, according to the CDC.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla last week declared a public health emergency because of the increase in Zika cases.

There is no vaccine for Zika.