Angela Minicuci with the state Health Department said there have been over 20 diagnosed cases in MI so far, but none have been contracted within the state.
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Babies carried by pregnant women who get the Zika virus are at greater risk for birth defects.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has spread to more than 50 countries and territories since the outbreak began a year ago in Brazil.
Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said at the briefing that local health authorities are similarly siphoning off money from other programs. Symptoms will begin to show within two to seven days after a bite from an infected mosquito that is carrying the Zika virus. While most people who are infected only experience mild symptoms, the virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly, which results in babies born with undersized heads and underdeveloped brains.
According to a prepared statement from the Grant County Health District, the man was “likely” exposed to Zika during his trip to Mexico, as the country has been known to have mosquitoes that are infected with the virus. The U.S. surgeon general is urging Puerto Rico on Thursday, Aug. 11, to step up its public education campaign against Zika as he warned that 25 percent of the island will be infected with the mosquito-borne virus by year’s end.
Six months after the first symptoms of infection of this man of 30, who, after a stay in Haiti last January, had felt fever and itching for almost five days, the virus was still present in his semen.
The health department said it still believes local transmission is only occurring in the one-square-mile (2.6-square-km) area located in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. Among U.S. states and territories, Puerto Rico is expected to see the worst of the outbreak due to its tropical climate and a lack of infrastructure for mosquito control.
“Society needs to be responsible”, Murthy said.
We don’t know how long it stays in the body.
Puerto Rico has had 8,776 registered Zika cases, including 901 pregnant women, since the first case was reported in December. “But [with] Zika, we already have a potential vaccine” and other Zika-related drugs are in development. The news prompted an unprecedented travel warning advising pregnant women and their partners to avoid the area of the city where the cases were identified.
Last week, the number of confirmed cases among pregnant women had risen to six.
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This latest case is the second confirmed case of maternal-to-fetal transmission of the virus in Canada.
