The appeal came as the World Health Organization (WHO) advised women in areas with the virus to protect themselves, especially during pregnancy, by covering up against mosquitoes and practising safe sex with their partners. As for women who plan to become pregnant in the future, Dr. Frieden says, “if this behaves like other viruses, infection with Zika before pregnancy would not have an impact on subsequent pregnancies”.
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The Zika-linked miscarriages were the first in the United States, but similar cases have been reported in Brazil since the start of the mosquito-borne disease’s outbreak.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WWLTV) – The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said it is investigating two presumptive cases of imported Zika virus in the state.
Although only 20 percent of people infected will have symptoms, the virus has been associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barr Syndrome, a neurological disorder and microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by smaller than normal head size.
That’s why the major concern continues to be for pregnant women who travel to tropical climates.
“There is still a lot that we have to learn”, Bassett said.
The Australian and New Zealand Olympic Committees have also said they would support athletes should they withdraw.
A pregnant woman in Australia has tested positive for the Zika virus after traveling overseas.
Health officials say Marylanders and other travelers to our area returning from regions with ongoing Zika transmission, such as the Caribbean and Central and South America, may have been exposed to the virus. Overall, there have been at least 50 cases reported across the U.S, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you are pregnant or plan to get pregnant in the near future, stay away from the countries that have the virus.
But several Republicans in Congress this week said that they would be fiercely opposed to abortions for pregnant women who are diagnosed with the virus.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can carry the Zika virus.
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Brazil has signed an agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch to develop a vaccine against the Zika virus, adding the goal is for the vaccine to be ready for clinical testing within 12 months.
