Many questions surround the presumed link between Zika and microcephaly. But, he added, more tests are needed to confirm that the Zika virus is the cause of the birth defect.
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Evidence piled up Thursday implicating the Zika virus in a surge of brain damaged babies in Latin America, with two reports of the disease found in the neural tissue of affected infants.
Ongoing, the USOC will post updates to its website at USOC.org/RioTravelUpdates and athletes are encouraged to seek their personal physicians or their delegation’s chief medical officer for additional information.
About 30 people who had recently traveled to regions where the Zika virus is present were ordered for testing and eight of those tests have been sent to the CDC, said Dr. Raul Pino, acting commissioner of public health. the results have not come back yet, he said.
A baby born with birth defect in Hawaii in January was the first case of Zika incident in the United States, and health officials revealed the baby’s mother was in Brazil a year ago where she could have contracted the infection which ultimately affected the baby in the womb.
Brazil’s Health Minister, Marcelo Castro, said his government will invest $1.9 million into the research, which will be done jointly by the University of Texas and the Evandro Chagas Institute in Belem.
The Australian and New Zealand Olympic Committees have also said they would support athletes should they withdraw. However, last week the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the virus a global public health emergency. The woman was not pregnant.
“While these approaches are promising, it is important to realize that the development of investigational vaccines to establish whether they are safe and effective takes time”, Fauci told the panels.
“Our department will continue to actively partner with the CDC, Maryland healthcare providers, laboratories, and health departments to provide support to Marylanders at risk of Zika infection – especially to pregnant women”, said Secretary Van T. Mitchell. Because doctors are so early in their research, Dr. Muller says we can’t be sure what risk the virus poses to New Mexicans.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zika virus typically causes a mild rash, fever and joint pain.
Scientists have suspected that Zika could be transmitted sexually, and there have been scattered reports of similar occurrences in recent years. “In Yolo, we don’t have the kind of mosquito that spreads that virus”.
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Researchers in Brazil and the US are working on a vaccine, but, as of now, there is none. For that reason, officials have focused on pregnant women in their warnings against travel and mosquito exposure. “The chances of getting Zika from a mosquito in Louisiana are very small”.
