While mosquitos are still the primary vector for spreading Zika virus, the new report hints that we have more to learn about other modes of transmission. Both the day before and the day after he became symptomatic, the man had unprotected sex with a Dallas man who developed Zika symptoms on the seventh day following the first man’s return from South America. But McKeown says people are encouraged to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
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Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and babesiosis, generally have been on the rise in Wisconsin in recent years. If symptoms do develop, they are usually mild and include fever, rash and eye redness. They are now recovering and more cases have not yet been reported.
Dr. Jones is most concerned about women who are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant. “It’s really important to make sure there isn’t standing water that is a breeding place near houses”.
Zika has been linked to thousands of suspected cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect, in Brazil.
Nobody has been infected with Zika from a mosquito bite occurring in the 50 states. That determination is made by the Virginia Department of Health, which works with healthcare providers through its local health departments to determine if testing is necessary. All of the cases were related to travel. But of hundreds of samples tested from Wisconsin travelers, none has been positive.
“This is the only, or the primary, defense we have today against Zika”, he said.
Pregnant women shouldn’t travel to affected countries, the CDC says.
The case involves a Peruvian who contracted the Zika virus while traveling in Venezuela.
Though nine cases of the Zika virus had been reported in North Carolina as of Wednesday, none have been found in Lincoln County. Another species, called Aedes albopictus (or Asian tiger mosquito), may also be able to transmit the disease, but there’s still much research being undertaken about that species as a transmission vector.
“But as summer increases and people go on vacations, that’s probably going to increase even more”, she said. “I wouldn’t say that if we were Florida”. It will also double the number of mosquito traps placed across the city.
Zika, which is spread by mosquitos and through sexual contact, can give adults the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome.
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At the press conference, Dr. Herminia Palacio, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said the City has extensive experience in its 20 years of controlling mosquito population that carries the West Nile virus.
