New figures from Brazil’s Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed cases of a rare brain defect as first feared.
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“We have been closely monitoring the Zika situation internationally and have been coordinating with Rhode Island healthcare providers for months”. “We need to maintain constant surveillance”, Norman said.About 700 people in the United States have been infected with the Zika virus as of last week, including 69 pregnant women, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the deputy director of the C.D.C., said on Monday at a White House briefing. A way to prevent the Zika virus would be just how you would want to prevent getting a mosquito bite.
Associate research fellow from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shi Yi, says the protein, which also exists in other viruses of the flavivirus genus, has two functions.
As the weather heats up and mosquitoes begin breeding – and people begin traveling on summer vacations – we’re likely to see more cases of Zika in our nation, and possibly our state. A digitally colorized transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of Zika virus.Q: Then how would pregnant women know if they’d been infected?
Zika usually causes nothing more than mild flu-like symptoms in otherwise healthy adults, but the virus is believed to cause a birth defect called microcephaly, identified by the poor development of the skulls in babies suffering from the malady. Approximately 80% of those who have the virus do not have any symptoms. “The most widespread of the tests – which measures the presence of the virus in the blood – only works if administered within five to seven days of the onset of symptoms”.
At an appropriations bill markup yesterday, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said the details from the administration on their request have been “too broad”, and gave department heads too much freedom to transfer funds. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not develop properly.
Seven people from British Columbia, including two pregnant women, recently tested positive for the Zika virus, .
Pregnant women or women who plan to become pregnant are advised to reconsider travel plans to Puerto Rico, Mexico and countries in Central and South America.
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As mosquito season approaches on May 1, the threat of Zika virus remains a concern for health officials across the country.
