Utah health officials said a resident infected with Zika has died, which they say marks the first death related to the mosquito-borne virus in the continental United States. The resident “had traveled this year to an area of the world where mosquitoes are known to spread Zika virus”, the health department said.
Advertisement
Utah authorities refused to release additional information about the patient or where he or she traveled, citing health privacy laws.
The individual is the second known Zika-associated death in this country, as a man carrying the virus died from complications in Puerto Rico in late April. Things like Zika’s symptoms, how long the virus stays in the blood, and the long term effect that Zika has on health – are things that scientists and doctors are still discovering.
A mosquito can carry the virus if it bites someone who is infected.
“I have been calling on Congress to act to fund the fight against Zika since February, when I first introduced my legislation to combat this risky virus”. Zika normally causes very mild symptoms – at the worst a rash and a fever. Officials also added that the woman also suffered from another health issue and that the exact cause of death is still being investigated.
The adult mosquito has white marks on the legs and thorax, and is original from Africa but is now found in tropical and subtropical areas, so that is why all Zika cases in the US are linked with travels.
Because the virus can be sexually transmitted if a male partner has been exposed to Zika, couples should wait six months to try to conceive.
In a small number of cases, the virus was transmitted through sexual contact within the U.S. There have been no cases of people being infected from mosquitoes within the continental U.S. That case involved someone who traveled to a country with active Zika transmission. Though this is the first death, there have also been over 1,000 reported cases of Zika across the United States. And five women lost their babies as a result of a miscarriage or voluntary ending of pregnancy.
Advertisement
The virus originated from the coasts of Latin America, the “Silent Epidemic”, as the Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Tom Frieden calls the disease, is slowly spreading across the states.
