Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health requests that health care providers report suspected Zika virus disease or associated conditions of microcephaly to local health departments, which will report cases to CDPH, which is coordinating referral of any specimens to the Centers for Disease Control for diagnostic testing. Almost all of those people or their sexual partners had traveled to a country with a Zika outbreak and brought the illness back to the U.S. “We also ask pregnant women who may have been exposed to Zika to talk to their doctors about getting tested”.
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Building on the Health Department’s robust West Nile virus mosquito control program, the Mayor’s plan expands mosquito surveillance and control to identify and target mosquitoes that could potentially transmit the Zika virus; creates capacity to meet a growing need for testing pregnant New Yorkers and local mosquitoes for the virus; and launches a comprehensive campaign to disseminate prevention and testing information throughout the city.
Norman noted that an outbreak of the virus in Kansas City is unlikely, and that neither species of mosquito that carries Zika is dominant in Missouri or Kansas ecosystems.
The most significant health threat is for pregnant women because Zika virus infections have been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, miscarriages, and other poor birth outcomes in some women infected during their pregnancy. Anyone with an active infection can spread the virus through mosquito bites and sex, so the CDC advises them to avoid mosquitoes and abstain from sex or use condoms. He said, “We’re talking about scores of cases, dozens of cases, at most”.
Top House Republicans say they are likely to grant a portion of President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion request to combat the Zika virus but will probably wait until September to do so.
The most commonly seen symptoms of the Zika Virus Disease include fever, joint pain, rash or conjunctivitis (red eyes).
To prevent the spread of the disease, people traveling to those areas should carefully follow steps to avoid mosquito bites while there and for seven days after returning home.
Zika is a very scary virus. A baby with the birth defect has a head much smaller than expected.
Mosquitoes most likely to carry Zika generally are found in the southern U.S. But the estimated range of one species reaches as far north as southern Wisconsin.
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Using insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol for long-lasting protection.
