“Our department will continue to actively partner with the CDC, Maryland health care providers, laboratories and health departments to provide support to Marylanders at risk of Zika infection – especially to pregnant women”, Maryland health department secretary Van T. Mitchell said in a statement.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WWLTV) – The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said it is investigating two presumptive cases of imported Zika virus in the state. At press time, the CDC reported at least 35 cases of Zika virus disease in the United States, all associated with travel. She declined to provide any other details about the case, including where the woman had traveled, citing patient privacy. A person in Texas caught the disease after having sex with someone who had contracted Zika while traveling overseas. The danger is for pregnant women.
The New England Journal of Medicine has published a study of a 25-year-old European woman infected with Zika in Brazil while pregnant last year which it says demonstrates the link between Zika and microcephaly.
Zika virus is transmitted primarily through the bites of Aedes species mosquitoes.
Brazil has been the most affected country, with 1.5 million people infected since early 2015, and health officials there have identified a third citizen whose death could be linked to the Zika virus.
This week, a crew traveled to Puerto Rico and another crew will head to Brazil Saturday, the epicenter of the Zika virus.
Meanwhile, in Australia, a second pregnant woman has been diagnosed with Zika virus, authorities said Friday.
The symptoms of Zika are similar to dengue, another mosquito-borne infection, which are often co-circulating in areas where Zika virus is present.
“The virus normally can cause either no symptoms in about 80 per cent of cases or a mild illness that resolves usually after a few days”, he said.
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“We’ve been informing physicians whom to test for Zika and sharing information on how travelers can protect themselves from being bitten by mosquitoes”, OHA Dr. Richard Leman said. Weivoda said the virus was discovered after the patient showed flu-like symptoms, including a rash and a fever, and sought medical help.
