Also, anticipating an uptick in travel in August to Brazil for the Summer Olympic Games, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued travel guidance that urges pregnant women to avoid the event.
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Symptoms of the virus include headache, muscle and joint aches, rash and conjunctivitis.
Many people infected with the Zika virus do not get sick, although health officials are investigating whether there is a link between Zika infections in pregnant women and a rare birth defect called microcephaly. The agency notified New Jersey health officials in December of the state’s first travel-related Zika case in an individual who was visiting Bergen County at the end of November and was exposed in Colombia, where she resides.
Williams said according to the information available, the three Pacific states where Zika virus infections were now occurring were Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.
USA health officials at Congressional hearings have raised concerns about the patchwork system for monitoring mosquitoes, including those that spread Zika virus, with some legislators airing their own worries about erosion in public health funding for vectorborne disease surveillance.
Brazil’s Health Ministry registered a total of 641 microcephaly cases on Tuesday, up by one-tenth from the previous week.
The CDC has also cautioned that sexual transmission of Zika has been reported after travel to the impacted countries. Florida had the most cases, with 28, followed by NY with 17 and Texas with 13. He said some are well funded, while others have no surveillance, lab, or communication capacity.
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Those are among 30 sites now included in a CDC travel alert for Zika virus transmission. Both cases of Zika that have been found in Travis County were contracted while traveling in other countries. Zika poses little threat to the general population, although evidence suggests men can transmit the virus to sexual partners after long exposure and long after any symptoms disappear.
