In its report Friday, the CDC did not give the women’s hometowns; state health officials have said there were two pregnant women with Zika in IL, three in Florida and one in Hawaii, who gave birth to a baby with microcephaly.
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The agency said on Friday that of the nine cases of US pregnant travelers infected with Zika, one delivered a child with birth defects.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red, itchy eyes.
CDC encourages following guidance to prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus [news release].
It’s been surprising that this many instances appear to have happened in the United States, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden noted during a call with reporters.
Several of the women who became infected through sexual transmission were pregnant.
In addition to a devastating loss of brain tissue, this fetus also had another abnormality – severe swelling and fluid build-up in other parts of the body – that by itself can be life-threatening, researchers reported Thursday.
Brazil said it has confirmed more than 580 cases of microcephaly, and considers a lot of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.
Not included in that count are an additional 117 diagnosed cases of the virus in Puerto Rico that were reported to the CDC after they totaled the above numbers. Two of those babies were born healthy, while the third has severe microcephaly.
Of more concern is the recently discovered link with serious health problems in pregnant women.
So far an increase in microcephaly cases and other neonatal malformations has only been reported in Brazil and French Polynesia. Another woman tested positive in a state test. To reduce the spread of Aedes mosquitos, officials recommend eliminating outdoor containers and other places where water gathers. He added that the agency anticipated “hundreds or even thousands” of infections in travelers returning from affected areas, but “we did not anticipate we would see this many sexually transmitted cases of Zika”.
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“If you or your partner are pregnant, use a condom for the duration of the pregnancy if you or your partner have traveled”, Shahab explained. “That particular mosquito is not found in Montana, but we are informing people who may be traveling to a Zika-infected area you should be aware that Zika is in that area and do what you can to protect yourself from mosquito bites”.
