State health leaders are trying to raise public awareness of Zika virus after a person tested positive for the virus this week in Bulloch County. CDC’s Fort Collins laboratory is also testing specimens from pregnant women for the Florida Department of Health and is working with Florida on other possible support for Zika lab testing.
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Scott spoke during a Zika roundtable in the Pinellas County city of Clearwater, near Tampa.
Still, Vasquez said the county has no plans to scale back efforts since mosquitoes can quickly rebound during soggy summer months, creating an ideal breeding environment for the species most capable of transmitting Zika. Crews will continue to aggressively spray for Zika virus in affected areas, Scott said.
“Arkansas residents traveling to Central or South America or the Caribbean, where Zika is present, should take precautions against mosquitoes”. A pregnant woman can pass Zika to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information on the Zika virus, call the state Zika Virus Information Hotline at 855-622-6735.
Providers should give advice on preventing sexual transmission of Zika during pregnancy.
Zika virus is transmitted mainly by the bite of infected mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, which are found in Georgia.
Getting Scott to talk specifics about the virus isn’t as easy. Health officials said the last active transmission occurred almost a month ago, with a patient whose symptoms first began on August 5, he said.
A total of 24 infections have been confirmed in pregnant women.
“So far we have not seen any local transmission”, said Dr. Raul Pino, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health. Other symptoms include muscle pain and headache.
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In Michigan, the primary infection risk “is from traveling to infected areas, or through sexual transmission with a male partner returning from an area with Zika activity”, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services website.
