Zika virus has recently been linked with serious health problems in pregnant women, primarily a birth defect known as microcephaly in children born to women who had a Zika infection.
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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been no reported mosquito-transmitted cases of Zika in the continental U.S. A few cases in this country have been reported via sexual transmission.
People who have traveled to any of the countries on the list will not be allowed to donate blood for at least 21 days after their return.
“Even though the [U.S.] numbers are small, they are of considerable interest”, Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, said during a news conference Friday.
Among the cases the CDC reported Friday, women who developed the symptoms of Zika-fever, rash, aches, eye irritation-in their first trimester were worst affected.
The CDC stressed that, “although sexual transmission of Zika virus infection is possible, mosquito bites remain the primary way that Zika virus is transmitted”.
– Two pregnancies are continuing with no reported complications. He also said that pregnant women should postpone travel to Zika-affected countries.
“We did not, however, anticipate that we would see this many sexually transmitted cases of Zika”, Frieden said in a teleconference. If you have a male partner who goes to the Olympics, you may be at risk for sexual transmission of Zika.
Since October, the World Health Organization said 5,600 babies have been born in Brazil with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.
“This is the first case of Zika in Argentina affecting a patient who had not traveled overseas”, Fortuna said.
And a new case study of a stillborn baby whose Brazilian mother was infected with Zika has raised suspicion that the virus may be capable of more damage than previously thought.
Zika infection is also believed to increase the risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a progressive paralysis from which most people eventually recover. The page includes a direct link to CDC for information about how to prevent Zika virus, symptoms, and detailed information for health care providers, facts sheets and more.
The Aedes mosquito that carries the Zika virus is not present in Canada at all.
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Researchers do not know how long the Zika virus remains in semen after an infection, so they are recommending that men who have traveled to affected regions abstain from sex or use condoms for the duration of a pregnancy.
