Wyoming Department of Health officials don’t expect the Zika virus will gain a foothold in the Cowboy State, but that hasn’t stopped them from warning travelers of its seriousness.
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“I think the most important thing is to reassure the public that in our area, the individuals have all been infected in countries where Zika virus is prevalent”, said county Commissioner Val Arkoosh, a physician serving as interim medical director of the Montgomery County Health Department.
Only one-fifth of the people infected with Zika will ever show symptoms, including fever, rash and joint pain, according to the WHO.
In Brazil, there has been mounting evidence linking Zika infection in pregnant women to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn’s head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly.
Health Secretary Janette Garin said on Monday (March 14) the DOH has placed the Zika virus under Catgory 1 of the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance System.
Zika is an infectious disease spread by the bite of a mosquito and now circulating in many warm-weather areas outside the United States.
The number of confirmed Zika virus cases in Florida has climbed to 60.
A new study examining a previous Zika outbreak in French Polynesia estimated that one in 100 women is at risk of Zika-linked microcephaly when the virus is contracted during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Health reporting on WMFE is supported in part by Florida Hospital and the Winter Park Health Foundation.
But officials also have said Zika infections probably won’t be a big problem in the USA for a number of reasons, including the more common use of air conditioning and door and window screens.
Meanwhile, Alabama has also issued an update on their figures with two more cases bringing the state’s total to three people with the Zika virus.
During the interview, Rady advised pregnant women against travel to central or South America, where cases of Zika have been found. “About 80 percent would not manifest symptoms”, said Garin in a press conference.
In addition to congenital microcephaly, Zika virus may cause miscarriages, and other adverse fetal outcomes. Stricklind told us areas that have standing water is a gold mine for mosquitoes to populate quickly.
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Thousands of pregnant women caught in an ongoing outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus spreading from Brazil risk having a baby with the birth defect microcephaly, according to the results of a new study.
