Most people who catch Zika only experience mild symptoms like fever, skin rash and muscle pain.
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As this same mosquito was causing Zika virus infection and the WHO had declared it an worldwide public health emergency, the government took the decision to test those negative samples again for Zika virus.
The CDC recommends that pregnant woman consider delaying travel to Zika endemic areas.
Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly in babies.
Speaking on “Human Surveillance for Zika Infections”, Dr Nadim alerted that about one out of five people develop symptoms associated with the Zika virus disease, emphasising that since there is yet no vaccine to prevent it, people in endemic areas also need to wear long sleeve shirts and long trousers.
All the cases in the USA thus far have been from people who traveled to countries with Zika.
The greatest danger facing those who contract Zika is a birth defect known as microcephaly, state officials said.
Christopher Rogers, research associate for the Kansas Biological Survey at the University of Kansas, said that, right now, the state’s mosquito traps don’t target species that carry Zika because the traps are designed mostly to catch the kind of mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus.
In addition, “the Department of Health continues to test pregnant women without symptoms of zika”. USA and global health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika.
However, health officials say that a limited spread of the virus is likely in the USA, because the Aedes mosquito is common in some areas.
“I don’t think it’s surprising”, said Dr. Michael Parry, Stamford Hospital director of infectious diseases.
“The possibility that a mosquito bite could be linked to severe fetal malformations alarmed the public and astonished scientists”, Dr Chan said.
The person at the centre of the latest confirmed case fell ill just a few days after returning home, but is now recovering. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue.
There are now 71 imported cases of Zika in Florida, four of which are in pregnant women and one that was acquired through sexual contact.
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World Health Organization experts told reporters that 6,480 cases of babies born with unusually small heads have been reported alone in northeast Brazil, which is at the centre of the outbreak.
