The woman is a state resident, but has returned to Central America and the agency is working with her doctor in CT to contact her and ensure she and her family receive proper medical care, the department said. As well as treating areas where the Aedes mosquitos could breed, the Ministry of Public Health put out warnings not to travel to potentially infected areas, to wear clothing that protected them from mosquito bites and to use repellent when going outside.
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Zika has been linked with the birth defect microcephaly that has been sweeping through South and Central America and the Caribbean and making its way north to the United States. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital; however, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly as well as other severe fetal brain defects, the health department announcement added. Though Wolbachia has been studied in the past as an effective control agent for dengue virus and even malaria, this is the first time that scientists have found it might play a role in stopping Zika virus replication in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The three people who tested positive for Zika have had no complications and have not been hospitalized, Nguyen said, and most likely had the disease months ago.
Among the reminders: anyone who travels to areas where Zika is active should keep watch for mosquito bites for seven days after returning home to prevent a mosquito from passing on a potential infection. Of those, eight were sexually transmitted and 36 were pregnant women.
Health officials have said local transmission of the virus on the USA mainland, largely in the Southeast, could occur starting this spring and summer.
This Zika case does not pose a risk to the public in Washington state.
But unlike the virulently life-threatening Ebola virus, the Zika disease seems less risky – except when it comes to pregnant women.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are providing interim guidance for employers and workers with information on preventing occupational exposure to the Zika virus.
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The Health Ministry said yesterday in that as of April 30, 3,580 suspected cases had been reported and that another 2,492 were ruled out as false alarms. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
