Zika had never before been suspected of causing microcephaly and was considered a fairly benign virus.
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A baby born with brain damage at a hospital in Oahu, Hawaii, was infected by the Zika virus, U.S. health officials confirm, apparently the first case of the mosquito-borne virus in a birth on USA soil.
Health officials think the condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy.
“There’s no indication at this point that there’s any Zika virus circulating in Hawaii”, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told Reuters. A mosquito becomes infected by taking a blood meal from an infected person, then passes the virus on when it bites additional people.
Late Friday, the agency urged pregnant women to avoid, if possible, travel to 14 countries and territories in the Americas which are now experiencing Zika virus infections.
It’s the state’s first known case of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to serious birth defects in thousands of babies born recently in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America.
The level two travel alert applies to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
It also includes advice that women who are trying to become pregnant should consult with their doctor before traveling to those areas.
The infection was confirmed by a laboratory test conducted by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state health department said neither mother nor child were still infected. The mosquitoes that spread the virus bite mostly during the day and also spread dengue and chikungunya diseases. Zika causes a mild illness with fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, with symptoms usually lasting under a week.
As the number of reported Zika infections has risen, so have instances of microcephaly. “Zika is an imminent threat and it’s only a matter of time before we find a positive case”, Minister Dalley said.
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. Until last year, the country had fewer than 200 cases each year. The study found that the United States was the top destination for travelers from Brazilian airports in affected areas, with 2.7 million in the prior year.
The Hawaii newborn “further emphasizes the importance of the CDC travel recommendations released today”, Dr. Park said. But medical historians say confirmed cases were rare until 2007, when an outbreak was identified in the Federated States of Micronesia in the South Pacific.
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The Department of Health issued a statement reminding physicians that travel history must always be considered as the Zika virus can be caught in other countries and brought into the United States.
