An obstetrician and gynecologist who is herself pregnant, Maguire has become scrupulous about following the advice that she gives patients to protect against Zika, which can cause a rare but devastating birth defect.
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The team investigating the Utah case expects to complete a report in September, Hudachko said.
Even if the Zika vaccine isn’t ready in time to prevent many infections in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the virus, it could help prevent cases elsewhere in the world, said William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
The WHO has confirmed that there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause microcephaly in babies, a birth defect characterized by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. “This case reminds us that anyone traveling to a Zika affected area should be aware of the risks”, said John Felton, President and CEO of RiverStone Health and the Yellowstone County Health Officer.
Three cases were in Travis County and four in Williamson County.
The assurances came just hours before the Florida Department of Health reported that it was investigating an additional case of a person being infected with Zika in Miami-Dade County.
In a release from Texas Medicaid officials, the department said it will cover two cans of mosquito repellent per month for women between the ages of 10 and 45 or who are pregnant as a way to combat the Zika virus.
But the Zika virus is different from Ebola and swine flu and all the other highly publicized epidemics in recent years in one way: It’s the only medical threat that could overshadow the Olympics.
Taylor Bertschy, said doctors typically ask pregnant patients several questions Zika-related questions if they’ve been to a Zika-infected area.
It noted that while the Florida outbreak is “not considered widespread”, the area should still be avoided.
While pregnant women are being advised to postpone non-essential travel to disease hotspots, the NHS stresses that for “most people it is a very mild infection and isn’t harmful”. Almost all have been the result of travel to a Zika-stricken country or sex with someone who was infected overseas, but now more than a dozen people have been infected in the U.S. A CDC map shows the species has been found in Kentucky before, but local health officials say it is extremely rare in the Bluegrass state.
Health officials say West Nile has been prevalent in mosquitoes and you can never be too careful by wearing repellent.
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Arizona already has the type of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, that could potentially pick up the virus. Zika can also be found in human urine, semen and saliva.
