Pregnant women told to avoid countries with Zika outbreaks.
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The virus is primarily spread to humans through bites from an infected mosquito. “Approximately 80 percent of those infected never show symptoms of the disease while approximately 20 percent show only mild symptoms”. Those who do have symptoms will have a mild illness that lasts from several days to a week with fever, rash and headaches.
Murphy would not say when or where the women had traveled, or where they live.
The announcement Tuesday came hours after the Ohio Department of Health reported the first case, involving a 30-year-old Cleveland woman who also visited Haiti.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged caution about linking the Zika virus with a rare nerve disorder called Guillain-Barre which health officials in Colombia have blamed for three deaths.
Pregnant women contracting the virus is a concern due to the virus’ suspected connection to the condition microcephaly, which can cause babies to be born with small heads and damaged brains.
There are at least 32 known cases in the continental U.S. None of those cases were transmitted through mosquito bites received anywhere in the continental U.S., health officials say.
Zika is a mosquito-borne illness that has surged through Latin America and has been linked to birth defects in children in the region.
Juan Canevo, executive director of Progreso Community Center and chairman of the Nashville Latino Health Coalition, said his team is trying to translate the English-language warnings from the CDC into Spanish to help protect more travelers. In May 2015, Zika virus was found for the first time in the Western Hemisphere in northeastern Brazil.
On Thursday, KMTV reported two cases of Zika had been identified in Nebraska. Ohio’s state officials says preparations are being made for the 2016 mosquito season.
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The CDC has recommended that all pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas where Zika transmission is ongoing.
