There have been two reported cases of Zika in New Jersey -one in Hudson and the other in Bergen County – and both were travel-related.
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The report includes all Zika cases reported between January 1, 2015, and February 26, 2016, but more than three-quarters of the patients reported that their illness began in 2016, according to the report released today (March 18). However, Brazil stated that it has confirmed more than 740 cases of microcephaly and considered majority are caused by Zika infection in the mothers.
On Tuesday, Cuban officials announced that they have detected the first case of Zika transmitted inside the country, ending Cuba’s status as one of the last nations in the hemisphere without domestic cases of the disease that has been linked to birth defects.
That US national public health institute also warned that sexual transmission of the Zika virus from a male partner was also possible and therefore encouraged travellers either to use condoms or abstain from sex.
The state is also planning to provide free Zika protection kits to pregnant women through health-care providers. The kind of mosquito that spreads Zika is found on the southern United States, so experts think it’s likely the pests will spread the virus there, too. They sent the man’s blood to Colorado to be tested by the CDC. Several of the pregnant women with the virus in the US had miscarriages, she said, and others terminated their pregnancies.
For healthy adults the virus is not very serious but it has been linked to birth defects and outcomes. “How high we don’t know”, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday at a Manhattan newsconference called to unveil the new protocols.
Of the CDC-confirmed cases, most came as result of travel to Haiti (27 cases) El Salvador (16), Colombia (11), Honduras (11) and Guatemala (10).
“Then you could see those numbers really spike in NY”, he said.
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Experts say small standing puddles of water could be a breeding ground for mosquitos carrying the zika virus. Zika is described as generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain.
