“There is virtually no risk to IL residents since you can not contract Zika virus from another person, but only through the bite of an infected mosquito”, IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. said in a statement.
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The agency issued a warning to pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America affected by the virus.
Other Bay Area women have also been tested for the Zika virus, and probably more will be tested as the overseas outbreak continues, according to at least one Bay Area infectious disease specialist.
Three UK travellers have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease linked to severe birth defects. There was no chance a mosquito could have bitten them and spread it to others.
Marcos Espinal, the head of the Pan American Health Organization’s communicable diseases department, delivered the bad news that “travel restrictions will not stop the spread of Zika” and he expected that it would spread throughout Latin America.
Zika causes only mild illness – fever, rash and joint pain – in most people and is rarely fatal. How the Zika virus has an impact on unborn children remains a mystery, and a number of studies are underway to asses its association with microcephaly.
If you are pregnant, don’t travel to Brazil.
Forty-nine babies with suspected microcephaly have died, Brazil’s health ministry says.
It is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also known to carry the dengue, yellow fever and Chikungunya viruses.
On Wednesday, the number of babies born with suspected microcephaly or abnormally small heads since October had reached almost 4,000.
For now, the World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of protecting vulnerable people against mosquito bites-by using repellents, insect screens, closing doors and windows, and wearing long clothing. The medical school at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) recommended that women in the country avoid getting pregnant for the time being due to the presence of the Zika virus.
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In addition to the Americas, around 10 nations in Africa, Asia and the Pacific have reported outbreaks of the Zika virus, Lindmeier added, majority involving “sporadic cases”.
