The number of confirmed Zika virus cases in Florida has climbed yet again.
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The latest case involves a woman from the state of Victoria who was going through an “extremely anxious” time, the southern state’s Health Minister Jill Hennessy said. “I think that we will see a large demand for testing”, he said. The virus – which can be transmitted through mosquito bites, perinatal and sexual contact – may be linked to birth defects in pregnant women.
In total, at least three women in the US have been infected with Zika after returning from overseas with the virus.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Roscoe Taylor said it was unlikely the virus would spread to mosquitos in Australia. However, the virus has been connected to microcephaly, a neurological disorder that results in babies being born with abnormally small heads.
Zika has spread to many countries in the Americas, though Brazil bears the heaviest caseload, with estimates of 440,000 to 1.3 million infected as of December.
New York City health officials are gearing up to make Zika blood tests available to pregnant women who have traveled to countries where the mosquito-borne disease is flourishing.
Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro confirmed the findings at a press conference, while announcing that a new partnership with scientists at the University of Texas could lead to laboratory development of a vaccine within a year.
The UT Medical Branch has a multipronged program to develop various vaccines and has been working on one for Zika for some time, said David Callender, the school’s president.
Hawaiian officials said the baby’s mother likely contracted the virus while living in Brazil a year ago and passed it on while her child was in the womb.
Though cases have already been reported in the US, experts say the disease is less of a threat here than in other parts of the world.
“It’s blown far beyond what Ebola did and it’s been driven by the media, those media reports that don’t include all the facts and are much more measured and reasonable”.
For more on Zika virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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There is no medication, anti-viral agent available to treat Zika virus. Tests are being conducted from Alabama resident specimens with a travel history to areas where Zika virus outbreaks are ongoing.
