There is now no vaccine to prevent or medicine for treatment of Zika virus though cases of death are rare. Sexual transmission between men and women as well as men and men has been observed.
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Zika is primarily spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito – the same kind that causes dengue and chikungunya viruses.
Since past year, the virus has been detected for the first time in 42 countries, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sridhar said the International Zika Summit at the Institut Pasteur Conference Center, in Paris, this week offered a chance of a breakthrough in dealing with the virus, with key areas of discussion including vaccine development. But as mosquito season approaches, health experts have said they expect to see infections in Gulf Coast states such as Florida and Texas, as well as Hawaii.
Given the number of Zika Virus cases already detected in the U.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed a case of Zika virus in a pregnant Missouri woman who had traveled to Nicaragua, a known area of Zika transmission. There are tons of resources provided by the Centers for Disease Control to help you. So far, six people have tested positive for the virus within Houston city limits and an additional six tested positive in Harris County. Several hundred travel-associated cases have appeared across the continental United States, but the virus is also circulating locally in some US territories, especially in Puerto Rico.
Before submitting a specimen, health care providers must contact DHSS to ensure a patient’s travel history and possible symptoms meet requirements for testing.
In addition, to avoid the spread of the disease, it was recommended for infected people to also avoid mosquito bites by wearing clothing that covers the skin.
“If requested by a worker, consider reassigning workers who indicate they are or may become pregnant, or male workers who have a sexual partner who is or may become pregnant, to indoor tasks to reduce their risk of mosquito bites”, the CDC said in a news release. Symptoms include mild fever, a rash, and conjunctivitis, which last for a few days.
Governor Dannel Malloy ordered the DPH to begin testing for Zika virus in January.
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Health officials said it’s the first report of infection between a gay couple, and worry that Zika will spread even faster through sex as well as through mosquito bites, CBS reports. The virus has been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disease that damages the peripheral nervous system, causing weakness and, in some cases, paralysis.
