Late last week, Florida health officials said they were investigating a second possible case of locally transmitted Zika infection.
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Health authorities in Spain have confirmed the first Zika-related microcephaly birth in the country. She became ill shortly after returning home.
The virus has led to over 1,500 cases of birth defect reports, a majority of which were reported in Brazil where the epidemic started previous year. Two travel-related cases have been found in Missoula, the first last February and the other this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will award $766,000 to IN to fight the Zika virus.
CDC officials have said repeatedly they expect to see cases of local transmission of the Zika virus this summer in southern states with warm, humid climates such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
A press release from Lewis & Clark Public Health explains that the Zika virus spreads to people mostly through the bite of certain kinds of mosquitoes (of the genus Aedes). The researchers also estimate there could be a total of more than 90 million Zika infections overall in Latin America and the Caribbean. They are not native to Montana.
This Q&A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
US health officials on Monday updated their Zika virus guidelines, saying that pregnant women could contract Zika from a sex partner of either gender.
The symptoms of Zika include a fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. After the onset of symptoms, it has lasted in the semen for more than 60 days.
Zika virus during pregnancy can be more serious. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not develop properly.
Because the virus can cause severe birth defects, CDC recommends that pregnant women do not travel to areas with Zika.
But the virus also has been linked to a rare paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
There is no vaccine against Zika virus.
The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas.
Stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. The only methods of prevention are to reduce the numbers of disease-carrying mosquitoes – by, for example, eliminating standing water, where larvae breed – and to protect against mosquito bites.
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While the state health department has played the lead role in coordinating the outreach and public health response, mosquito control – handled largely by county and local agencies – falls under the Department of Environmental Protection.
