Ms Hennessy said there was no risk to the public as the Zika virus was not transmitted person to person, and was not present in Australian mosquitoes. As for women who plan to become pregnant in the future, Dr. Frieden says, “if this behaves like other viruses, infection with Zika before pregnancy would not have an impact on subsequent pregnancies”.
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The warning from the World Health Organization came amid a call to arms by officials on both sides of the Atlantic over the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to a spike in a rare birth defect in Brazil. On Wednesday, European researchers caring for a woman who returned there from Brazil reported a post-abortion autopsy that found the virus in her fetus’ severely damaged brain – one a fraction of the proper size and lacking the usual crinkly folds.
Feb 11 Recent laboratory analyses identified Zika virus infections in three people who died in Brazil previous year, the health ministry said on Thursday, although authorities could not confirm that Zika alone was responsible for their deaths.
The woman, who recently traveled to South America, is not pregnant and is expected to recover.
“The illness may include a fever, a rash which is sometimes itchy, and joint pains”.
Duran said organizers were telling athletes to use repellents to protect themselves against mosquito bites, the primary means of transmission of the virus.
The Obama administration’s request for funding, made Monday, would allow for an expansion of mosquito-control programs, speed development of a vaccine, develop diagnostic tests and improve support for low-income pregnant women.
According to the CDC, the virus chiefly is transmitted by mosquito, though there also have been reports of transmission through blood transfusion and sexual contact. In response to concern about the Zika virus, state agencies and other key stakeholders have been alerted.
But the trade group American Society of Travel Agents says its members aren’t losing money to the virus so far – they’re reporting few outright cancellations, where people, concerned about the virus, cancel trips and don’t pick another destination.
The miscarriages reinforce the theory that an expecting mother can pass the virus to her fetus.
Earlier this week, a pregnant woman in Queensland state was also diagnosed with Zika after traveling overseas.
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Many questions surround the presumed link between Zika and microcephaly.
