In the matter of unplanned pregnancy and fetal alcohol syndrome, one might argue that this situation is a matter of acting responsibly, and therefore importantly different than that of the Zika virus in which pregnant women can not effectively prevent getting bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus.
Advertisement
Bruno Gomes Antunes shows a picture of his daughter, who was born with microcephaly, at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
They say he should add money to his upcoming budget request if necessary and that curbing the virus overseas is one of the best ways to limit its spread in the U.S.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended more stringent measures for monitoring pregnant women for Zika and for preventing sexual transmission of the virus.
On Feb. 1, the D.C. Department of Health issued a notice about the Zika virus, and circulated a fact sheet at community meetings throughout the following week.
A Brazilian research team formed by the public health research institution Ossa Crud Foundation said it had discovered traces of the virus in the saliva and urine of infected patients who had already displayed symptoms of the disease.
“The science is not clear on how long the risk should be avoided”, said the CDC statement, urging people to talk about testing with their healthcare providers.
Last month, the World Health Organization declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus a “international health emergency”.
It is unclear whether in pregnant women the virus crosses the placenta and causes microcephaly. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue.
Frieden’s remarks ushered in two sets of guidelines on the Zika virus, which has been blamed for a swell of microcephaly cases – a fetal development disorder – in Brazil.
Brazil’s government may change a law to make it easier to share samples of the Zika virus with laboratories in other countries if it can guarantee access to tests and vaccines developed from those samples, two government sources said on Friday.
But the insects are bringing more than just irritation to the southern USA, they’re spreading the Zika Virus.
Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly. “Our new guidance is that pregnant women should use condoms during sex or abstain if their partner has traveled to an area where Zika has been spreading”.
What are the symptoms of Zika?
While current travel warnings only apply to a small subset of the population, they’ve made many tourists second guess whether travel to Zika-affected areas is a good idea. The Washington Post’s Lena Sun and Brady Dennis report that researchers are racing against time understand the virus – how it manifests itself and who’s at risk. At least five cases have been documented in NY residents who traveled overseas.
Advertisement
The three deaths in Colombia occurred after the people had symptoms of Guillain-Barre, a rare and temporary neurological condition in which the immune system attacks part of the nervous system.
