We’re learning more about a virus health experts across the state say is causing “urgent concerns” for pregnant women.
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Jamie Rogers is due to deliver in early March at Paoli Hospital, while she’s perfectly healthy.
However, it is risky for pregnant women as the virus is linked to brain defects, neurological disorders and neonatal malformations in babies.
“Something like this that you really have no control over is a little scary”, Jamie said. The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome and pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes. That’s all to the good: Those mosquitoes also spread dengue fever and yellow fever, plagues of poor nations that kill tens of thousands yet until now have failed to attract the resources or attention needed to eradicate them.
“We will see mini-outbreaks like in Florida and in Texas that can be well controlled with mosquito vector control”, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Jamie stays in touch with her mom, who is in Panama, through e-mail. But for right now, you can rest assured that there is no current outbreak in the U.S.
The Zika virus was first discovered in Africa in 1947, but until previous year, when it was found in Brazil, it had never been a threat in the Western Hemisphere. Women have already been advised to avoid travelling to infected countries if they might be pregnant or are trying for a child.
Zika symptoms are mild, causing a low fever, joint pain, headaches, a rash and conjunctivitis. There could be explosive consequences were the Zika virus transmitted to India.
The World Health Organization says the virus is spreading explosively and as many four million people in the Americas could be infected by the end of the year. The mosquito that carries Zika isn’t typically in our area, but another type that could carry the virus is.
“It’s affecting pregnant mothers”, said Martinez.
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In Brazil, the Zika virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly, or abnormally small heads in newborns.
