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Qld Zika virus tests ‘inconclusive’

“As of today, five new Zika cases have been confirmed with one in Broward County and three in Miami-Dade County”, wrote Florida Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong.

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On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning that pregnant women should consider not to travel to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil due to the risk of Zika virus infection.

“This is the strongest evidence to date that Zika is the cause of microcephaly”, explained CDC Director Tom Frieden.

“There seems to be something about this virus that is very unusual”, said Green, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology.

Health officials released no information about where the woman lives, where she traveled or how long she was in a Zika-affected area.

Since August, CDC has tested 257 pregnant women for the virus. The agency also issued guidelines for physicians, urging them to perform blood tests and regular ultrasounds on expecting mothers who have returned from a Zika-affected region.

Those are among 30 sites now included in a CDC travel alert for Zika virus transmission.

There have been 147 USA cases of Zika reported to the CDC so far, Frieden said.

“Countries within the Caribbean, Central Americana, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and South America are known to have Zika virus transmission”, he said.

They have got the virus while visiting or living in places facing Zika outbreak.

However, he said the virus showed mild or no symptoms in most people.

“The standard symptoms of Zika virus are headache, fever, muscle aches and pains, joint pains, rash, conjunctivitis”.

Six of the women reported Zika symptoms during their first trimester, and their outcomes reflect expert opinion that early infection can be more devastating to the developing fetus than infection later in pregnancy.

There is a potential risk that the Zika virus can be transmitted by HCT/Ps used as part of a medical, surgical, or reproductive procedure, the FDA said on Tuesday.

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A woman tested positive for the virus after traveling to Colombia and returning to the U.S.in late January with what appeared to be a viral infection, Presence Saint Joseph Hospital said during a press conference.

Poll Brazilians oppose abortion in cases of microcephaly