After the state’s first death linked to the Zika virus, Texas health officials are continuing to focus on educating the public – particularly people who travel to areas where Zika is widespread.
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With almost two-thirds of Florida’s public school districts now in session, state Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday briefed school superintendents on efforts to combat the Zika virus.
University Health Network infectious diseases specialist Isaac Bogoch said the full range of health issues related to Zika still isn’t clear, and doctors will be closely watching babies who have been infected to see if cognitive problems emerge as they grow.
Thomas Frieden, director the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has said that Zika is on track to infect up to 10,000 pregnant women by the end of the year, potentially harming hundreds of babies. According to the statement of the institute, 61 cases of infection with Zika virus have been registered in Italy, in all cases of travelers returning from affected countries very.
Zika is primarily transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which isn’t found in Canada.
The Obama administration will transfer more than $30 million from medical institutes within the National Institutes of Health to pay for the second stage of a Zika vaccine, officials announced Thursday.
Q If a person catches Zika, how long can they pass the disease on to mosquitoes? Partners of pregnant women are advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.
The total number of confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Canada, meanwhile, has risen to 205 as of Aug 11. But it can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads, if women are infected during pregnancy.
The CDC recommends women who are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant postpone travel to areas where there is widespread Zika infection.
According to the World Health Organization report, the mosquito-born virus is estimated to infect between three million and four million people this year. It can also be transmitted to infants when they are born. Investigators and mosquito control inspectors will be working in that area, but no other details about the location or the patient were released.
The Florida Department of Health is also urging everyone to wear mosquito repellant when spending time outside.
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The Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida, which serves low-income and at-risk pregnant women in Collier, has been doing blood draws for Zika testing since spring based on the CDC guidance, said Denise Henning, administrator of women’s services at the network.
