He and other Dallas County health officials met with representatives of most cities in the county Wednesday to discuss how to react to Zika.
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The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant.
The WA Health Department said on Friday that it was the second case ever notified in the state, following a single case previous year.
The Zika virus has been reported in more than 30 countries and concern about it is growing around the world.
To prevent the spread of the virus in Los Angeles County, residents are being asked to remove any standing water from their homes and yards – even small cups and bottle caps that can hold enough water to incubate mosquito eggs. Door-to-door inspections have increased in neighborhoods where 12 cases of Zika were reported.
The virus is generally spread when a mosquito bites an infected person and then bites someone who has never had the virus.
The Zika virus has been found in over two dozen countries, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Doctors fear the mosquito-born illness is causing the birth defect that results in abnormally small heads and brains in infants.
The unidentified person had not travelled but had had sex with a person who had returned from Venezuela and fallen ill with Zika, Dallas County health officials said.
Meanwhile, a World Health Organization spokesman yesterday said it’s time for science to “step up” and tackle the “the very concerning” cases of microcephaly that could be linked to Zika virus.
The disease starts with a mosquito bite and normally causes little more than a fever and rash. This week, the Red Cross said they are asking travelers to Zika outbreak countries to wait at least 28 days before donating blood.
“What worries the ministers is the speed with which Zika virus infections have spread”, she told reporters on the sidelines of the talks.
The South American officials gathered on Wednesday were reluctant to quantify the risk of sexual transmission.
Christian Lindmeier made the comments a day after the United Nations health agency declared Zika a global public health emergency.
But spotting Zika will be harder than finding West Nile, he said. Pregnant women are being advised not to travel to areas where the virus is present.
Thailand confirmed that a man contracted the infection and Indonesia has also reported a domestic case – as has Cape Verde off northwest Africa.
The WHO warned European countries to act early to stop Zika spreading.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the mosquito has “re-colonized” Madeira in Portugal and parts of southern Russian Federation and Georgia in recent years after disappearing from the continent in the 20th century.
It has been spotted as far north as the Netherlands.
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There’s no vaccine, no treatment and no cure.
