The woman was tested while back in CT and has since returned to Central America.
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” … There is no risk to public health and no risk of transmission to people or mosquitoes in SC at this time”, the statement reads. Now, with another virus, Zika, spreading throughout this hemisphere, Americans in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll are anxious about it – though the level of concern is about what it was before the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in the United State in September 2014.
Across the United States, 426 cases of the Zika virus have been reported, 12 of which are in Virginia.
“We had expected to see a case appear in SC eventually as more people vacation to countries where the Zika virus is actively spreading”, said Dr. Teresa Foo, DHEC medical consultant. The first case was in a Mason County man in his 20s, who had recently traveled to the South Pacific.
Health Minister Nicolas Steele said confirmation of the first case came last Friday from the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CAPHA).
The state Department of Public Health on Tuesday afternoon said its laboratory “identified Zika-specific antibodies in the patient’s blood and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the findings”.
This is the third positive Zika virus test in CT, and a first for a pregnant woman. Expecting mothers who are bitten by an infected mosquito are likely to have babies with deformed, tiny heads.
Panama’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that 14 pregnant women have contracted the virus, and six babies who were infected with Zika were born with malformations, including the microcephaly cases, Reuters reported. And there have been close to 700 cases in Puerto Rico, with 65 pregnant women having been infected. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
“Zika is a serious risk for pregnant women who travel to areas where outbreaks are occurring and who have sex partners who have traveled to these areas”, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “As our state’s public health agency, we actively monitor for the arrival of new diseases in SC in an effort to help stop the spread of the illness”.
“Women should not panic yet, because right now, this is still just in people who travel”, Stella said.
With the new response plan, the county hopes to prevent any Zika outbreaks this summer from spreading.
Pino also warns that you may be able to sexually transmit the illness for at least six months after symptoms begin.
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However, even if Wolbachia proves effective in reducing Zika transmission by mosquitoes, it will not eliminate the virus completely, Moreira said.
