“Zika virus is impacting Florida, Puerto Rico and South America, and we must be prepared for what is predicted to be an even more explosive outbreak”, Rubio said. The Arkansas Department of Health cautions travelers and women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant to take important steps to guard against Zika transmission. The disease is now also endemic in Central America, many Caribbean countries and parts of Mexico. The virus can be spread through sexual contact, too. “A lot of this is about going to people and saying, ‘There are simple, common sense things you can do, not just to protect yourself from Zika but to protect yourself from any mosquito-borne illness”.
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The Salt Lake County Health Department announced Friday that a county resident who was infected with Zika virus has given birth to a healthy baby.
The CDC has urged people who travel to an area where Zika is present to go to a doctor if they experience any of the symptoms associated with Zika within three to seven days of their return.
Few published studies address the effects of DEET in pregnant women and their children – and none of the studies involved pregnant women in the first trimester, the period when most birth defects occur, according to the New York Times article.
According to Davenport, the Salt Lake County woman had traveled to a region that was affected by the virus while pregnant. You can stay up-to-date on their latest travel notices at www.cdc.gov/travel. The World Health Organization said the Zika virus, found in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, is a public health emergency of global concern.
“Only one in five people who are bitten by mosquitoes and infected show any symptoms at all”, Crowe explained. They also got the virus when they traveled out of the country.
In that way, Zika is similar to a host of other diseases: malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, lacrosse encephalitis, or chikungunya.
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The agency said research continues to determine a “causal link” between the Zika virus and neurological disorders in fetuses, newborns, infants, and adults. This includes storing water in tightly sealed containers to avoid mosquito breeding, using insect repellants and long clothing to prevent the exposure of skin to mosquito bites, conducting routine checks of households for potential and active breeding sites, and the immediate and appropriate disposal of breeding sites.
