The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the USA was reported in the state of Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day after the World Health Organization declared an worldwide public health emergency.
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With concern growing that an outbreak sweeping Latin America could spread much farther, health authorities in Texas said they had confirmation of the virus being transmitted by sexual contact and not just tropical mosquitoes.
All cases of Zika virus confirmed in Florida are considered travel-related. The patient’s infection was confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CBS DFW reports.
The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex.
Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda but until past year, it wasn’t believed to cause any serious effects; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.
A number of Zika patients there have also developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune condition which can cause at least temporary paralysis.
“The majority of Zika infections are asymptomatic”, said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at Oxford University. “And then the virus replicates faster because it’s hotter, therefore the mosquitoes can transmit earlier in their life”, Reisen said.
The symptoms typically last from two days to a week, according to PAHO.
She said that traveler’s screening is ongoing through the filling up of health declaration checklist of those arriving from countries where zika virus infection and other infectious diseases exist.
Since October, Brazil has reported 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly, of which 404 have been confirmed – up from 147 in 2014.
An Australian state health service said two Australians were diagnosed with the virus after returning from the Caribbean, confirming the first cases of the virus in the country this year.
Jaques Wagner, the chief of staff for Brazil president Dilma Rousseff, said Monday there was no risk to athletes unless “they are pregnant women”.
Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to areas affected by the virus.
According to Garin, private hospitals and other health care facilities have been instructed to report to RITM any possible Zika virus cases.
“What we know is the vast majority of spread is going to be from mosquitoes”, Frieden added.
Rio de Janerio: The Zika virus is overshadowing the final preparations for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, even eclipsing concerns over deep budget cuts and severe water pollution.
Worry over the Zika virus was the main topic Tuesday during an Olympic committee news conference. “We can’t say we won’t have any cases (during the games) but we see this as a minimal risk”.
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Japan’s leading drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical is investigating ways in which it might help make a Zika vaccine, becoming the latest company to study vaccine options for the mosquito-borne disease sweeping the Americas.
