Brazil said it has confirmed more than 860 cases of microcephaly, and considers a lot of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Statewide, there have been at least 14 cases of Zika, including eight in Harris County.
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“Right now, we don’t have the data to answer that question, and for that reason, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not put out specific guidance yet on how long couples should wait”, Tosh says.
A pattern had emerged with initial virus circulation followed about three weeks later by an unusual increase in Guillain-Barré cases, then foetal malformations as pregnancies of infected women come to term, Chan said. Health officials said they expect that information to be released some time Tuesday. For this reason, Kentuckians traveling to Zika-affected areas of the world should take steps to protect themselves and their families. Microcephaly is a condition where the head is smaller than normal and may lead to a child experiencing a variety of other health challenges including physical and speech functions, seizure, hyperactivity, coordination problems and other brain/neurological disorders.
Zika is caused by the Zika virus and spread by mosquitoes.
The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
The patient, who returned home on March 11, has been treated at a hospital in Gwangju, some 329km south of Seoul, Yonhap news agency said yesterday. Mahmudur Rahman, director of the ministry’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, said the man had never travelled outside Bangladesh.
Almost 200 samples have been taken from residents to be tested for Zika virus, according to the state DPH, and only 67 results have been received.
Later in the afternoon, the CDC said that South Korea does not have vector mosquitoes, a dengue fever epidemic or indigenous Zika cases, so infection risks from the Zika virus is considered relatively low.
The government in February, after WHO’s emergency call on Zika virus, chose to retest old blood samples stored at the IEDCR for any trace of the virus.
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Symptoms of Zika can begin two to seven days after being bitten by a mosquito. Affected countries are focusing on wiping out mosquito populations in an effort to curb its spread.
