Two California-born infants have the Zika-related birth defect ‘microcephaly, ‘ state public health department officials confirmed Thursday.
Advertisement
So far there have been no cases of the virus being transmitted within the state of California, or anywhere else in the U.S. except Florida, where it’s believed four cases were transmitted locally.
Fears about Zika have increased in the last week after officials in Florida reported 15 cases of Zika brought on by mosquitoes there. Smith could not confirm whether or not the latter mother contracted Zika in her country, but said that she was from a country where mosquitoes were transmitting the virus.
“If there’s a pregnant woman anywhere in the country, when they have a visit with their health care provider, especially their prenatal visits, they should have a conversation with their physician about Zika”, Wells said Thursday.
Nationwide, the CDC reports as of July 28, there are 479 pregnant women infected with the Zika virus. There is now no vaccine or treatment for Zika.
OBGYNs are handing out Zika kits with bug spray, tablets use to kill mosquitoes and condoms, since the virus can be sexually-transmitted.
State health officials have urged pregnant women or those considering getting pregnant to avoid those areas.
Gov. Robert Bentley has approved $250,000 in emergency funds to go toward fighting the Zika virus and mosquito control efforts in Alabama. There haven’t been any reported cases of Zika in this area, but the company is looking ahead with a plan to help keep the mosquitoes away.
The governor has pledged free Zika testing for all pregnant women in the state even though there is a shortage of test kits.
Advertisement
“I actually put skin repellent all over myself just to be protected and, luckily, I wasn’t bitten by any mosquitoes and I came back fine”, said Hernandez.
