The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the Texas case was the first US Zika case in someone who had not traveled overseas in the current outbreak, CDC Director Tom Frieden said on Twitter.
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Mexico is one of 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories with a Zika-related travel alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prompting some expectant couples to steer clear of the region.
Lee, Hillsborough, and Santa Rosa counties are also affected by the warning. One day later, health officials reported a case that the virus had been sexually transmitted in Dallas.
More than 5 million worldwide visitors came to Central Florida in 2014, officials say, with 1.9 million of them from South America, primarily Brazil, where the virus is widespread. “Additionally, we have distributed health information from the CDC to our disease management and case management teams to help support our members”, an Aetna Inc. spokesman said in a statement. The Aedes aegypti is a vector for transmitting the Zika virus. “We know that we must be prepared for the worst even as we hope for the best”, said Governor Rick Scott in an announcement about the executive order.
There are only a small number of mosquitoes in Thailand that can carry the Zika virus, as just a few people have been infected, a medical entomologist said. It’s unclear how the Georgia traveler got the virus, whether through a mosquito bite or some other mode of transmission.
Video: What Is The Zika Virus?
Public Health England, meanwhile, has been advising men to wear condoms for about a month after traveling in countries where Zika has spread, and those who had unexplained fevers or a diagnosis of Zika to wear condoms for six months.
World Health Organization urged European countries on Wednesday to start preparing now to protect their populations against the Zika virus, which has never been transmitted in Europe but could spread with the onset of spring and summer. The virus has been linked to brain damage in newborns.
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World health leaders call the Zika virus an worldwide emergency. Illness is often mild and typically resolves within a week.
