The Kentucky Department for Public Health has confirmed the state’s first case of Zika virus.
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Health experts have urged women who want to become pregnant or who are pregnant to avoid travel to the more than 30 areas of the world where Zika is present-or if they live there, to postpone plans to get pregnant if possible.
“Consequently, at elevations above [6,500 feet], the risk for mosquito-borne exposure to Zika virus is considered to be minimal”, researchers from the CDC said in a report published today (March 11).
Though a few cases of the virus in the United States have been spread through sexual contact, the vast majority of cases worldwide have been spread by mosquitos.
Previous research has suggested that the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus also appears to be linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and underdeveloped brains.
Frieden also said a link between Zika and Guillan Barre syndrome – in which the immune system attacks the nervous system – “is likely to be proven in the near future” .
State health officials announced Friday that a southwest Kansas resident contracted the Zika virus after the resident traveled to an unspecified country where the pathogen has spread.
DPH says it is working closely with the CDC to provide guidance and education to health professionals and the general public regarding the Zika virus.
The woman resides in Aichi Prefecture, in central Japan, and is a foreign national, the ministry said, stating that the case was confirmed after she had complained of rashes, a fever and joint pains to her local physician. The best way to prevent Zika virus is to prevent mosquito bites. The CDC recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds.
Mexico Health Department’s Dr. Cuitlahuac Ruiz Matuz said authorities there had objected to a blanket travel advisory for the country before it was issued, and had lobbied CDC for a change.
– If you have a male partner who lives in or has traveled to an area where Zika transmission is ongoing, either use condoms the right way, every time or do not have sex during your pregnancy.
“I am very concerned that before the year is out there could be hundreds of thousands of Zika infections in Puerto Rico and thousands of infected pregnant women”, he added.
Last month President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion to fight the Zika virus. During the meeting, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan spoke about how people can – and should – protect themselves from Zika (as prevention is key).
More than 40 countries have been affected by Zika, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), and USA Today reported that more than 150 cases have been documented in the U.S.
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There are now Zika outbreaks in more than 30 countries, and health officials have warned pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant not to travel or plan travel to those countries.
