Federal health authorities have confirmed a second travel-related case of the Zika virus in North Jersey and state health officials plan to appear at Montclair State University on Thursday to alert pregnant women and others about the risk of the virus as part of a public education campaign.
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Zika virus infections have been confirmed in nine pregnant women in the USA, including one who gave birth to a baby with severe microcephaly, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week. The Spokane woman was tested based on CDC guidance that all pregnant women who traveled to a place with a Zika outbreak during pregnancy receive antibody testing for the virus. She fully recovered and returned to Colombia, state health officials said. However, the CDC said last week that it was investigating 14 suspected cases, some of which have now been ruled out, suggesting that sexual transmission could occur more often than previously thought.
The proximity of mosquito vector breeding sites to human habitation is a significant risk factor for Zika virus infection. The 61-year-old woman reported a fever and rash on Feb 10, and blood samples taken Feb 13 and Feb 17 tested positive for Zika virus.
There is also concern that Zika virus could be linked to cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that can cause paralysis.
On 25 February 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines notified PAHO/WHO of the country’s first case of Zika virus infection.
Mosquito bites remain the primary transmission of Zika virus, but sexual transmission of the virus is possible. The mosquito that most commonly transmits Zika (Aedes aegypti) is not found in Philadelphia.
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The Tarrant County Public Health Department confirmed a patient who had recently been in the Carribean has been diagnosed with the disease, which the World Health Organization has declared an worldwide health emergency because of the danger to unborn babies. Mosquitoes become infected after biting an infected person and then can transmit the virus to other people through bites. “The ability to communicate broadly with large numbers of people about the dangers of Zika and the importance of using condoms and where to get them has the power to significantly change the current reproductive health landscape”. The virus, which is mosquito-borne, has spread through Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms.
