The Department of Health (DOH) has strengthened its reporting system for the prevention of Zika virus infection by including the mosquito-borne disease among the ailments that must be reported within 24 hours to the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau.
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The Spanish health ministry on Monday confirmed here that 43 cases of Zika virus infection had so far been reported in Spain. Microcephaly causes babies to have smaller than normal heads, and often causes smaller brains that improperly develop, according to the CDC.
While local transmission has not occurred in the United States, the invasive Aedes mosquitoes that can transmit Zika virus are present in Orange County.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that infected women and those living in regions with Zika virus circulating should breastfeed.
In a letter sent today, Dr. Tomarken cautioned that Zika virus may be transmitted not only by infected Aedes species mosquitoes but also by a male to his sex partners.
The city of Little Rock is beginning efforts to reduce residents’ exposure to mosquitoes and the possibility of contracting the Zika virus, a city memo said.
First discovered in the 1940s, the Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus (in the same family as yellow fever, dengue and West Nile viruses), previously found largely in Africa and Southeast Asia.
In Delaware, health officials are getting ready for the swiftly approaching mosquito season by planning for contingencies if they start seeing Zika virus cases.
The Cayman Islands has no documented Zika cases, according to Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez, the country’s leading public health official with the Health Services Authority. Doctors there searched for infectious agents, discovering Zika virus in the patient’s serum and cerebrospinal fluid. But rubella causes problems only in the first half of pregnancy whereas Zika-infected women experience these problems in later stages of gestation too.
The blood bank is also asking donors about their travel to areas where Zika is being spread.
“Zika has spread rapidly, and to fight back, we need to make sure we have the necessary tools to prevent and treat the disease”, said Sen. Parents can also take precautions by covering strollers, carriers, and cribs with mosquito netting and dressing children in long sleeves and trousers.
When asked, Prof AKM Shamsuzzaman, Line Director of the government’s Centre for Disease Control, said: “we have strengthened our regular searching activities in Chittagong” .
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After weekly treatments failed to deter them, she installed an automatic spray system that turns on twice a day.
