“We don’t know the future course of the epidemic of Zika, but we have to be prepared for the virus to be present for years”, José Esparza of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, current president of the Global Virus Network, stated during the conference.
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“With no vaccine or antiviral drug now available to prevent infection or protect a developing fetus, it is imperative that women in any trimester of pregnancy, women who are planning to become pregnant, and their male sexual partner follow recommendations for prevention”, state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino said.
Dr. Megan Davies, chief of the epidemiology section of the North Carolina Division of Public Health said there is no reason to worry about Zika in North Carolina.
The latest outbreak of the Zika virus has been mostly confined to the Americas, including Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean, where it has reached pandemic levels, according to the World Health Organization.
New research confirms what many scientists have theorized: a bacteria could help control the spread of the Zika virus.
Recent scientific consensus is that the virus causes microcephaly in babies and adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death.
Health officials recommend that women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant to postpone travel to areas where Zika is locally transmitted. The mosquitoes that carry Zika bite during the day and night. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
To date, 426 cases of travel-related Zika have been reported in the continental United States, according to the DPH.
The unmarried woman, whose identity was withheld, worked in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from April 10-30 and entered South Korea on May 1, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
The woman in her 30s is not pregnant. Many who were infected by the virus did not show symptoms, but when symptoms do show up they are very similar to that of the dengue and chikungunya viruses. Also, it can take as long as eight weeks after travel for symptoms to appear, so if you visit an infected area you should still consider using condoms or not having sex even if you don’t feel ill.
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“They acquire the virus, but they don’t get sick”, he said.
