Under the EUA, the test may be used for patients displaying Zika symptoms, patients who have recently traveled to a Zika-affected region, or for patients who meet “other epidemiologic criteria”.
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The CDC also warned that pregnant women who have a male partner who goes to the Olympics may be at risk of sexual transmission of Zika. Ten additional reports of Zika infection involving pregnant USA women are now under investigation, the CDC added.
Okanogan County Public Health officials are waiting for lab results on a few possible cases of the Zika virus. The doctor will also ask about developmental milestones since microcephaly can be associated with other problems, such as intellectual disability. The virus remains in the blood of an infected person for only about a week.
The WHO said that 46 countries have reported evidence of Zika infection and that 130 countries are home to the Aedis aegypti mosquito which carries the virus.
But CDC investigators said they didn’t expect to see such severe abnormalities in such a small group of women. Symptoms of Zika virus disease include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pains, malaise or headache. “We understand that the occurrence of fetal malformation, fetal loss or miscarriage, or a child with a birth defect, is something that can be devastating to a family”.
Of the two pregnant women with Zika diagnosed during their second trimester, one gave birth to an apparently healthy baby and another is still pregnant. Since Brazil first reported cases of Zika in 2015, the virus has spread to 31 countries and territories in the Americas.
For any pregnant women who still intend to travel to Brazil this summer, the CDC stated that advice should be sought from their physicians before going ahead with their trips. If you are pregnant, avoid travel to Zika outbreak areas.
Alabau can’t confirm her illness was Zika because she wasn’t tested at the time.
No details on the cases were released.
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The FDA granted emergency use of a new CDC test for the Zika virus. The chemical abortion drug that the group is offering is for first-trimester abortions only – meaning that women taking the drug would have no way of knowing at that stage if their unborn baby had the disorder. 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.
