Speaking at a February 5 news conference, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said the agency is investigating Brazilian research that detected Zika virus in patients’ saliva and urine. Still, pregnant women or those howling to get pregnant are advised not to travel to countries where the mosquito borne virus is causing birth defects.
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According to the CDC, pregnant women should avoid traveling to affected areas.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) today announced its strong support for a new surge in funding to protect against Zika virus. Recently in Brazil, local health authorities have observed an increase in Zika virus infections in the general public as well as an increase in babies born with microcephaly in northeast Brazil.
State health officials have confirmed Ohio’s first case of the Zika virus, joining 35 cases nationally reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials wouldn’t say where the resident lived in the state, citing privacy issues.
The health officials were asked to conduct medical check up for passengers travelling from the countries affected by Zika virus outbreak, he said adding that a thermal scanner was installed at the airport to conduct the examination. The illness is usually mild with the symptoms lasting a week.
Zika virus is primarily transmitted through a mosquito bite, and there is no indication that it can spread from person to person through casual contact.
And following the theory that it really isn’t a USA problem until it occurs in the USA, with the revelation that the Zika virus was transmitted during sexual intercourse between someone in Texas and someone who had come from Venezuela, we will now have to join the rest of the world who have been advocating for strict condom use for up to six months for males who might have been exposed.
In an interview on CBS Monday morning, President Obama said, “What we now know is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women and women who are thinking about having a baby”. Health officials say there are many things about the Zika virus you may not know.
On Thursday, KMTV reported two cases of Zika had been identified in Nebraska.
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Only about one in five people infected with Zika virus will actually become ill, according to the CDC. It also recommends that men who have a pregnant partner and reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission abstain from unprotected sexual activity for the duration of the pregnancy. Brazil was the first to raise the alarm that the virus could be linked to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain in infants.
