Three pregnant women in Florida have tested positive for the Zika virus after travelling to affected countries, health officials have revealed.
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Cameron Dick’s announcement in parliament on Thursday comes as spraying for mosquitoes that could carry Zika continues in Rockhampton after the state’s eighth confirmed case was discovered in the central Queensland city on Wednesday afternoon.
All of the cases involve the possible transmission of the virus to a female who hadn’t traveled from a male sexual partner who had recently traveled to an area where Zika was spreading through mosquitoes.
Nemecek told reporters that the virus had been detected in a man returning from Martinique and in a woman who traveled to the Dominican Republic. The state is not releasing the counties in which the pregnant women live.
According to the department of health, the primary mosquito that transmits Zika virus is found in the tropics and southern USA, but it is not established in Ohio.
The virus has been associated with microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.
Although Zika is not now being spread by mosquitoes in the continental USA, the number of Zika cases among travelers returning to the U.S.is expected to increase. A new case was reported in Seminole County on Tuesday.
Two hospitals in Houston, Texas, have developed a rapid test for the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
Asked whether she agreed with the advice given in some Latin American countries for women to consider delaying pregnancy, Chan said she thinks it is important for governments to set out all available information so people can make informed decisions.
Dr. Wells says pregnant women are most at risk for complications from the Zika virus.
At this point, the only evidence that Zika can be transmitted via sex applies to men passing the virus to women.
Of people infected with the Zika virus, 80 percent do not have any symptoms. In May of 2015, Brazil reported the first cases of Zika virus in the Americas.
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The link hasn’t been confirmed but the possibility has prompted health officials to take cautionary steps to protect fetuses from the virus.
