The virus which is relatively born from mosquito is prompting worldwide concern because of an alarming connection to a neurological birth disorder.
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GOSHEN, N.Y. An Orange County resident who recently traveled to South America has tested positive for the Zika virus.
According to a report from ABC News, 18 people living in the continental United States have been infected with the Zika Virus, which could cause a fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it hard for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
The second case happened in 2008 when Dr Brian D Foy, a disease expert at Colorado State University, came down with the virus after travelling to Senegal and collecting mosquitos for a study.
It says El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Martinique are now experiencing a “rapidly evolving” Zika virus epidemic – with an increasing or widespread transmission.
The mosquito-borne virus is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
Vaccine or specific medicine is yet to be found to treat Zika virus infections.
Britain has also reported a handful of cases in travellers returning from South America.
“A mosquito here could pick up the virus from the infected person and then transmit it to someone else”, said Weinstein.
On Tuesday night as several major airlines said they would allow travelers to cancel trips to some Central American countries without penalty, warnings for pregnant travelers are also growing.
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Travel advice from the National Travel Health Network and Centre urges pregnant women to reconsider travel to areas where the outbreak has been reported. “There have been numerous cases of what they call microsephaly, it’s just a fancy word for a small head and what happens is those children get brain damage after the pregnant mothers contract the virus”, said Brancati. But Brazil has seen a spike in Zika cases at the same time as it has seen dramatic rise in new born babies suffering a rare birth defect.
