Families or college students planning spring break vacations should be aware of the risk of Zika virus disease and take precautions to prevent mosquito bites, according to a news release from the DeKalb County Health Department.
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One of the big questions in the outbreak is how often a Zika virus infection in pregnancy triggers these birth defects.
The Zika virus is widely-considered to be a vector-borne disease carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
In a press briefing, Health Secretary Janette Garin said the Zika virus has been classified as Category 1 in the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System, which means all suspected cases of the virus shall be reported to the DOH within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, many states around the country are reporting positive test results for Zika in residents who have traveled to countries experiencing Zika outbreaks.
Other suspected cases may include patients who have experienced symptoms within two weeks after traveling from countries with confirmed reported cases of Zika virus, and patients who have a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome.
State media said a 21-year-old Havana woman who had not traveled outside Cuba was diagnosed with the virus after suffering headaches, fatigue and other symptoms.
Last month, the World Heath Organization declared the rapid spread of the virus as a public health emergency.
It’s the first confirmed case of Zika virus disease in Kansas.
Garin said the DOH has tested 827 suspected Zika cases but all turned out to be negative.
The virus has become rampant in parts of South and Central America, the Caribbean and some Pacific Islands.
By comparing the models to the number and timing of actual microcephaly cases in the Polynesia outbreak, they found the scenario in which the first trimester of pregnancy was linked with an increased risk was most consistent with the data.
Microcephaly – a birth defect marked by a shrunken brain and skull and, often, a lifetime of disability – has emerged as the most striking signature of a Zika outbreak that began past year in Brazil.
“Microcephaly has many causes, a lot of them remains unknown, but if there are cases of microcephaly, it is not alarming”.
Men who have traveled to Zika-affected areas and have pregnant partners should abstain from sex or consistently and correctly use condoms for the duration of the pregnancy for all forms of sexual activity.
Zika virus is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.
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“They’re aware, but there is no panic or anything like that”, Bodden said.
