The West Virginia Department of Hwalth and Human Resources says, as part of preparations for the state’s first case of Zika virus, BPH has been working with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal partners to monitor Zika virus testing and guidance to ensure health care providers and local health departments have the appropriate information.
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State health officials announced Friday that a southwest Kansas resident contracted the Zika virus after the resident traveled to an unspecified country where the pathogen has spread. Although the virus causes relatively mild symptoms in most healthy people, the virus can cause brain defects in infants, including microcephaly, a neurological condition characterized by babies born with abnormally small heads.
Zika virus could also be related to an increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, an immune disorder that can cause paralysis; however, travel advisories have not been based on the possible threat of the syndrome.
Travelers whose itineraries are limited to areas higher than 6,500 feet are at little risk of getting Zika from a mosquito.
“I suspect several countries will be quite pleased” by the revision, said Dr. Martin Cetron, who leads CDC’s division of global migration and quarantine. Countries with areas of higher elevation include Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela.
He argued that the CDC should be even more specific and report where Zika has been detected.
Zika virus is transmitted through the bite of an infectious mosquito, although cases of transmission through sexual contact and blood transfusion have also been reported.
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Besides the capital, Mexico has other large cities such as Puebla, Toluca and Guanajuato and the popular tourist destination of San Cristobal de las Casas at elevations above 6,500 feet. For those who become ill, the most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Don’t forget your insect repellent and condoms.
