Dr. Peter Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine’s dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, pointed out that the Zika virus may spread in the Gulf coast because the area houses two species of mosquitoes that can carry it: the Aedes aegyptus and the Aedes albopictus or the Asian tiger mosquito.
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A year after Federal Bureau of Investigation agents moved in to arrest a young suburban Cincinnati man they said had just bought weapons for an attack on the U.S. Capitol, there’s no trial scheduled and it’s not certain there will…
The CDC recently announced a possible link between Zika cases in Brazil and a spike in infant microcephaly, which causes children to be born with abnormally small heads.
“Yes, it was travel related”, said Raquel Castillo, lead epidemiologist at the Cameron County Health Department. Perinatal transmission has been reported with other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue and chikungunya. By New Year’s Eve 2015, the CDC reported that Puerto Rico had the first locally acquired case of zika, meaning it was contracted within the United States territory rather that was brought in by a traveler to the island. While not nearly as devastating, it’s almost certain that more cases will pop up as the virus is spread among mosquitos.
At that point, Zika had spread from the shoulder of South America up through Central America and into Mexico. Symptoms to be aware of include, a fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis.
“We are actively watching out to detect cases as early as possible and the measures that we are emphasizing are about vector (mosquito) control, eliminating breeding areas, to reduce contagion levels”, said Raquel Pimentel, general director of the Ministry of Health’s Epidemiology Division.
There is no vaccine or drug for the specific treatment of Zika Virus Infection – treatment is based around relieving fever and pains and allowing the body to recover.
Virologists said zika has already reached “epidemic” proportions in El Salvador, where doctors were able to isolate the virus in some children suffering from microcephaly. “In the timespan of two weeks my city has gone from “never heard of this virus” to thousands of infecteds, inclunding myself, my husband, and several relatives and friends of mine”.
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Brazilian health authorities have said there’s no question Zika is behind the birth defects. In 2015 approximately 3,000 babies in Brazil were born with the birth defect, making the number of cases of microcephaly usually found in the county increase tenfold. Many women are unaware they have the virus, as they may not develop any symptoms.
