Northern Kentucky’s first case of the Zika virus has been confirmed in a Boone County man, the Northern Kentucky Health Department announced Friday.
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Ten pregnant women in Dallas County have been diagnosed with the Zika virus.
“Travelers to areas with active Zika virus transmission should take precautions to prevent mosquito bites, which is the primary way you can contract the virus”, Dr. Mary DiOrio, medical director of the Ohio Department of Health stated in the release.
In states that are home to the type of mosquitoes known to transmit Zika, the virus can be spread if an infected person is bitten and then that mosquito then goes on to bite other people.
Zika is typically transmitted via the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The money will be used for mosquito control, lab equipment and to purchase “Zika prevention kits” from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus is particularly risky to pregnant women, as contracting the virus could lead to brain defects in the fetus, including microcephaly.
“It is not enough for health officials just to warn women about the risks associated Zika? they must also make efforts to ensure that women are offered safe, legal, and accessible reproductive choices”, she said.
Levine said the full picture of Zika’s relationship to microcephaly is still unclear.
The researchers analyzed information requests from affected countries before and after the virus began spreading, as well as comparing those to countries where Zika hasn’t been documented. The American territory of Puerto Rico is facing an especially high risk, potentially placing hundreds of pregnant women in jeopardy of delivering babies with debilitating birth defects.
President Barack Obama in February asked Congress to approve a $1.9 billion package to thwart the spread of Zika, but many Republicans have balked at the price tag, preferring to shift funds already appropriated to combat the Ebola virus and cut funds elsewhere.
There are now five Zika cases in the state of SC, according to state health officials. These mosquitos carry the Zika virus.
For anyone who gets infected with the virus, the CDC recommends rest, drinking lots of fluids and taking acetaminophen to help fever and pain. The department sent blood samples from the four people to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad Wednesday to test for Zika. What I will tell you today is what we know today.
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People who have had dengue may have been more susceptible to infection with Zika. While it’s too early to say definitively, the researchers suggest that the current Zika outbreak could have been driven by the population’s existing immunity to dengue.
