Health officials said that both became infected recently after traveling to countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. One infant in Hawaii was born earlier this month with microcephaly, which has been associated with the virus. It is understood the mother contracted the virus while in Brazil.
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Patel says there has been a connection between the Zika virus and fetal abnormalities although it hasn’t been proven yet.
Where did the virus come from? GBS has been reported in patients with probable Zika virus infection in French Polynesia and Brazil, the CDC reported.
“Zika virus is not a health threat for people in Minnesota, but it is a reminder that anyone traveling to a different part of the world should be mindful of the health issues present in that region”, Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger said in a statement.
Flathead County Health Department Director Joe Russell tells us that a person in Northwest Montana traveled to an area where the mosquito born virus has been found and then reported their trip to health officials upon return.
The zika virus has already spread elsewhere in South America.
Microcephaly can cause brain damage or death in babies.
After the outbreak, Brazilian officials sent 200,000 troops to homes to deliver information on how to get rid of mosquitos.
This week the city sent fumigators into the Carnival stadium, also known as the Sambodrome, which will stage the top Samba schools parade on February 7th and 8th-and will also be used for the Olympic Archery events in August.
“Rather than say “consider postponing, ‘ it would be my advice as a family member or a friend, I would say ‘don’t go”.
Monica Roa is vice president of strategy for Women’s Link Worldwide, a women’s rights group.
The danger: Zika, a mosquito-borne virus possibly linked to a spike in a serious and nonreversible birth defect in Brazil, microencephaly, where babies’ heads are abnormally small and their brains may not completely develop.
Symptoms include red eyes, fever, joint pain and rash, but infected people often don’t experience any symptoms at all. These symptoms can last from a few days to about a week.
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An adolescent girl who traveled from Los Angeles County to El Salvador in November previous year was infected with the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. About four million women in America get pregnant each year. For example, it is not clear how common Zika infections are in pregnant women, or when during a pregnancy a woman is most at risk of transmitting the virus to her fetus. The Tiger mosquito, which can be found in NY during the summertime, does too.
