CDC’s statement is the agency’s first explicit warning for some travelers to stay away from the Games in Rio de Janeiro, which has been expecting to draw as many as 400,000 tourists from around the world.
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An analysis of some cases showed the virus had crossed the placenta and affected the fetuses.
Zika has become epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean since last fall.
According to the county Health and Human Services Agency, the woman was not pregnant or hospitalized, and has recovered. Two women who experienced symptoms later in their pregnancies delivered healthy babies.
The lab performs a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction testing for Zika virus, Cronquist said, which is similar to testing done for the West Nile virus. Details were not provided for the second case. Among those who have expressed reluctance is famed USA soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo, who said Thursday she may not join her teammates in Brazil due to concerns about Zika.
At the house committee hearing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said it appears the greatest risk for microcephaly occurs if the pregnant woman is infected with the Zika virus in her first trimester and that the severity of condition can vary. Four pregnancies ended in miscarriage or abortion, one baby was born with severe brain defects and two women are still pregnant with apparently healthy babies. She is believed to have been infected while traveling to Brazil.
“This is a test that was developed over years in the CDC laboratory and in over a question of just weeks we’ve been able to scale up production”, Frieden said, adding while the test is not yet widely available, it is a step forward.
The CDC has issued guidance for men who’ve been to a place with a Zika outbreak who have a pregnant sexual partner. Women who’ve had a Zika infection can give birth to children with smaller-than-normal heads. If their partner is pregnant, men should use condoms for the duration of the pregnancy. In some cases, women in affected countries have been told to consider putting off pregnancy.
In a tweet Friday afternoon, the CDC advised pregnant women to postpone travel to areas with Zika. The CDC has established a voluntary pregnancy registry to gather information about Zika virus and pregnancy. Officials also have made Zika a reportable disease.
Health officials in the USA, including CDC Director Tom Frieden, have reiterated that they can not yet prove that Zika virus is linked to the “potentially devastating” birth defect.
The FDA granted emergency use of a new CDC test for the Zika virus.
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So far, more than 80 Zika infections have been diagnosed in the US, and all have involved people who traveled to outbreak regions.
