The World Health Organization has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also investigating cases of possible sexual transmission.
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On Friday, the CDC reported that as of April 20, 388 cases of travel-linked Zika virus disease have been confirmed in the 50 states, and so far no American has picked up the disease locally.
The latest case involves a pregnant woman who recently traveled to Nicaragua.
“I came back and was kind of achy, my back was hurting, and I just didn’t feel quite right”, he recounts in an interview that has been posted on YouTube.
The patient is not experiencing any Zika symptoms but is receiving care and undergoing ongoing evaluation for her pregnancy. His wife also noticed red dots on his arm, which spread very quickly. “Then I freaked out like, whoa – what is this?”
Several weeks after the White House began asking for emergency funding from Congress to stop the spread of the Zika virus, a funding bill has failed to appear before the full Senate.
McGinnis had cut his trip short and left before his wife and children, reports KDSK.
He took the rest of the day off work, and within a few days the dots and soreness went away. “Seriously, the cold I have now is worse than that!”
The virus was confirmed earlier this month to cause microcephaly, brain deformities in babies, if contracted by pregnant women. He has seen the images and read the same stories describing the risks. “We’re in a discussion with them about how much do they really need?” said Sen.
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“We have more information about this than we had about going to war in Iraq”, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) during a Democratic member news conference.
