A pregnant Victorian woman is undergoing an anxious time after being diagnosed with the Zika virus after returning from overseas where the disease is prevalent.
Advertisement
New reports have emerged suggesting there is a possibility it could be carried from an infected person to a new human host via saliva and urine.
The Zika virus, which is suspected of causing birth defects in children, is transmitted primarily through a mosquito bite, but there are also cases of transmission through blood transfusion and sexual contact.
State health officials are working with the CDC and distributing guidance to Maryland hospitals. The connection has yet to be scientifically proven, but the CDC has pointed to strong evidence of a link between the two and called on pregnant women to avoid travel to 22 countries with active outbreaks.
The disease is asymptomatic much of the time.
Brian Lawrence, a spokesman for the health department, declined to say the patient’s age or gender, where in Maryland the patient lives or what the patient’s condition is.
A county resident tested positive for the virus, the Putnam County Department of Health said on Friday in a released statement.
– Bitter cold temperatures we feel make it hard to think about spring but the next season is on the minds of city leaders who met Thursday to discuss how to prepare if the mosquito-borne Zika virus comes to New York City. “First, the response must be driven by science and not panic”.
Advertisement
Individual countries and regions are beginning to mobilize to limit the spread of Zika and are cooperating on developing a vaccine. “Pedro Vasconcelos is very optimistic about the work being done and believes that within a year we could have the vaccine in its developed form, not in its applied form”, said Castro. “I will be evaluating the President’s supplemental funding request to ensure that it both meets the criteria for emergency spending and provides the resources necessary to stop the spread of this virus”.
