“All I can say is the travel advisory is still in effect”, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said. Fifty-eight infections involve pregnant women.
Advertisement
This is the second confirmed case of maternal-to-fetal transmission of the virus in Canada.
The CDPH has also released a health advisory on the spread of the Zika virus and is now working with local authorities to reduce the population of the Aedes mosquito, which can carry the Zika virus.
The CDC warned that if visits to the affected areas are necessary, travelers are advised to follow the “2226 Principle” after leaving Zika-affected areas to prevent transmission of the virus. The Florida Department of Health has identified that Zika is being spread by mosquitoes in Wynwood, a neighborhood of Miami.
Zika is spread when a mosquito bites an infected person, becomes infected itself and then bites other people.
In light of the potential health risks associated with pregnancy and Zika, special emphasis will be placed on the importance of prevention of the infection in pregnant women, the health ministry said.
The Zika virus rose to prominence in 2015 after cases of an unknown disease were reported in Brazil.
On average, two to three babies are born with microcephaly every year, unrelated to zika, in Barbados.
So a research team based in Recife, the Brazilian city at the centre of the Zika epidemic, made a decision to investigate the possible causes of the joint deformities. Avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In a prepared statement officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services noted that the declaration is meant to highlight the danger that the public on the island, a U.S. territory is under, especially pregnant women. The nursing director said she spoke to the woman on Wednesday and counseled her on appropriate measures she should take going forward.
Though 70 percent of tourists said they were “concerned” about the virus, only one in ten from that group – or 7 percent of respondents overall – said they had changed their travel plans.
Advertisement
Brazilian scientists previously announced that there may be a link between Zika and a severe joint deformity known as arthrogryposis in babies. The theory is that the Zika virus destroys brain cells, and forms lesions similar to “scars” on which calcium is deposited.
