New FDA guidelines aim to prevent Zika transmission via tissue,

Brazil said it has confirmed 641 cases of microcephaly, and considers a lot of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Mexico is one of the countries reporting local Zika transmission.

The tests are not conducted in the St. Louis area, but are done at the CDC in Atlanta. Zika poses little threat to the general population, although evidence suggests men can transmit the virus to sexual partners after long exposure and long after any symptoms disappear. In a joint statement, WSDH and the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) said the baby tested negative for Zika virus.

CDC, in January, issued a travel advisory for people planning to travel to countries where the virus is prevalent. Khan added that Zika qualifies as a concern, not a health emergency.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that doctors had confirmed the presence of Zika virus in the tissue of infants who died from microcephaly.

The number of cases of infected pregnant women has risen since mid-February, when the health ministry said there were 80 confirmed cases of Zika, including six cases of pregnant women with the virus. The sixth woman is still pregnant with no known complications. Men also can spread Zika through sexual contact, and women can pass it to their fetus or newborn near birth.

CDC director Tom Frieden told Congress last week that the CDC is reiterating its recommendation that men who live or travel to an affected area abstain from unprotected sex or properly use condoms during sex. Zika has not yet been definitively proven to be the cause. He said it is also likely that Zika is associated with another neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which induces temporary paralysis that in some instances can be fatal. It was first detected in Brazil, where it is believed to have infected hundreds of thousands of people as it began its march across the Americas.

Last month, a pregnant Victorian woman was diagnosed with the deadly disease after returning from overseas. “The fifth new case is a pregnant woman”.