“Pregnant women, as well as women who wish to become pregnant and who are planning to travel to areas where the virus is circulating, should discuss their plans with a health professional”. “And to try and give them this advance notice to talk about it with their ob-gyn about what they can do to avoid mosquito bites while they are there”, said Castodale.
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The United States has two potential candidates for a vaccine for the Zika virus and may begin clinical trials in people by the end of this year, but there will not be a widely available vaccine for several years, USA officials said on Thursday.
Although research is still underway, significant evidence in Brazil shows a link between Zika infections and rising cases of microcephaly, a neurological disorder in which infants are born with smaller craniums and brains. One WHO scientist said the Americas could see up to 4 million cases of Zika in the next year.
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On Tuesday, Colombian authorities ordered hospitals in lower-lying areas to prepare for the spread of the disease, which is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
DPH is telling cautions travelers, especially pregnant women, headed to countries where the virus is present.
A woman who traveled to Colombia in November has been diagnosed with Zika, according to the City of Houston Health Department. “With Zika, only one in five people will be symptomatic, and most people aren’t bad enough to go to the doctor”, Barton told KHOU.
She says for eight days she had symptoms matching those of the Zika virus.
Dr. Ray Pontzer, an infectious disease specialist in Allegheny County, says Africa and Asia have been spared.
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The virus which has symptoms ranging from fever and rash to joint pain and red eyes is something medical providers will be watching closely during this travel season and as the summer months approach.
