According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, the Zika disease is a virus spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
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In Bexar County, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District confirmed two new cases of the Zika virus, raising the total number of confirmed county cases from one to three.
The virus was found in the women’s placentas, he said.
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“The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week”, officials said.
State officials – in line with CDC guidelines – are advising pregnant woman to postpone travel to affected parts of the Americas and the Caribbean.
The symptoms (fever, rash, joint paint, pink-eye conditions), much like the flu – are rarely fatal.
The primary concern surrounding the virus, which has largely been reported in Latin America, is its link to the birth defect microcephaly.
Officials did not release many more details other than that the woman in DE was not pregnant, but Philadelphia’s health department is not aware of any cases among area residents.
Carried by mosquitoes, the virus is particularly harmful to pregnant women, who can pass it onto their babies.
She went on: “I do want to assure you all that Zika virus poses no public health risk to others in the community as it is not transmitted person-to-person”.
“Sometimes it could be obvious fairly early on and sometimes it may not be obvious at all or there may be no impact”, Dr Taylor said about the risks to the pregnant woman’s child. The medical community suspects that Zika can lead to devastating birth defects, most notably microcephaly, in which newborns have abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.
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But he says because we’re still learning about the virus, there’s no definitive answer.
