The man has recently traveled to Haiti, where there is active mosquito-borne transmission of Zika, the state announced in a release posted to the state’s website Tuesday. “The Lincoln County Health Department has also started preconception counseling on Zika virus for our family planning patients”.The Zika virus was first detected in Brazil last spring and has since spread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
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“While the risk to the public is very low, we are coordinating with doctors, especially those who work with pregnant women”, said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, health directors. When symptoms do occur, they’re usually mild and include fever, rash, joint pain, muscle pain, eye irritation and headache.
“Given that almost 80 percent of individuals infected with Zika appear to be asymptomatic, this test is insufficient for most people who will become infected”, Murphy added. The Inquisitr reported the Zika virus is also a likely cause of several cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect that produces an unusually small head. “In a situation like this – when the World Health Organization has estimated that up to four million people in the Americas will be infected by the end of the year – we don’t have the luxury of time”.
Public health officials are getting creative about tackling the Zika crisis, with campaigns that use reggae music and Elmo to raise awareness about the virus.
And, just days ago, the virus was detected in two pregnant women in British Columbia. Pregnant woman should also avoid travel to these countries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed cases in 30 states, including one travel-related case in Montana.
A newly published journal says more than two billion people are now living in parts of the world where the Zika virus can spread.
According to health officials in Brazil, at least 1,113 cases of microcephaly have been confirmed since October.
Though Zika is not a super-new virus-it was first discovered in 1947 in Uganda’s Zika forest-the scope and seriousness of this outbreak is unusual in the disease’s history.
“We will spare no effort to protect pregnant New Yorkers from the devastating consequences of Zika, and we ask New Yorkers to help us by taking simple steps to get rid of standing water where mosquitoes can breed”, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
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The best prevention methods are avoiding mosquito bites by using insect repellant, wearing additional clothing, staying in air-conditioned spaces, and using condoms during sexual activity.
