State health officials say two more Marylanders contracted the disease after traveling to countries where the virus is running rampant, and that’s the case for nine pregnant women in the US.
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In the meantime, the CDC recommends that pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas where Zika transmission is ongoing.
One of the women who chose to end her pregnancy did so after she found out about her Zika diagnosis and tests indicated her baby may have been born with birth defects.
Microcephaly is a condition in newborns in which the brain is underdeveloped, and the head is smaller in size.
The CDC is now monitoring an additional 10 pregnant women in the United States suspected of being infected by the Zika virus.
A Missoula woman has Montana’s first diagnosed case of the Zika virus. All had reported symptoms of the disease – such as fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis – and all had traveled to one of more than two-dozen Zika-affected countries, officials said. Because Zika is capable of being transmitted sexually, partners of women who are pregnant and reside in or have traveled to areas with Zika transmission should use condoms or abstain from sex throughout the pregnancy.
CDC also said women considering becoming pregnant, and their male partners, should exercise caution if they travel to the Olympics or Paralympic Games, scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro in August and September.
But CDC investigators said they didn’t expect to see such severe abnormalities in such a small group of women. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to the development of several pregnancy complications and birth defect development in babies.
CDC director Tom Frieden said Friday that scientists are confident there is an association between the Zika virus and microcephaly. Her comment came during a telebriefing on Zika held Friday by the CDC. And the evidence coming over from this country, Brazil points in the direction that Zika is a possible cause.
It is especially unsafe for pregnant women.
Before you travel, talk to your health care provider about your plans to become pregnant and the risk of Zika virus infection during your trip.
Aside from mosquitoes, Zika can be spread through sexual contact in some cases, the CDC notes.
There have been 107 cases of Zika virus among U.S. travelers returning from Zika-infected areas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
Although Mexico has reported cases from local mosquitos, none have been in Baja California. Both of them tested positive for Zika.
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The CDC announced Tuesday it was investigating 14 new reports of sexual transmission of the virus. The two women who gave birth to healthy infants experienced Zika symptoms during their second and third trimesters.
