An elderly man in Puerto Rico died last spring and Utah reported the death of an elderly patient with Zika last week. Additionally, in USA territories, there are 2,916 documented cases of Zika virus, most of which were caused from mosquitoes carrying the virus inhabiting those territories.
Advertisement
Discussing the case, CDC director Thomas Frieden, MD said “We don’t have any evidence that suggests Zika can be passed from one person to another by sneezing or coughing or sharing utensils”, but that this case could challenge that belief.
The elderly man died after contracting Zika overseas.
Denton County Public Health (DCPH) has confirmed the first travel-associated case of Zika virus in a City of Lewisville resident. There has yet to be a case of local transmission via mosquito in the continental United States, but local outbreaks are considered likely as the weather warms, health officials have said. Now, however, there might be a third way the Zika can be contracted, possibly through contact with the bodily fluids of somebody infected with the virus.
The CDC has issued guidelines as a precaution following a visit to countries where the Zika virus is endemic. Men returning from Zika-affected areas should either abstain from sexual activity or use protection to avoid possibly infecting a partner.
“We’re also doing mosquito trapping near the residence where these individuals lived to make sure this is not a potential route of transmission”, Hudachko said.
For more information, click the link. A team from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the case and testing people who came in contact with the recovered Utah man. Results are not yet available.
Zika, which is primarily spread by Aedes mosquitoes, has swept through much of the Americas since cases first emerged in Brazil a year ago.
Zika virus can cause a variety of symptoms, including rash and joint and muscle pain, but often carries no symptoms at all.
The Pan American Health Organization reports that 40 countries in the Americas now have local transmission of the Zika virus.
No cases of mosquito-spread Zika have been reported in the continental United States, according to the CDC. It can cause rare complications such as the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome and very rarely can kill or help kill an already ill patient.
Health officials continued to remind people to drain any standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Advertisement
About 80% of people infected with the Zika virus never show symptoms.
