How do people become infected?
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Local health authorities, meanwhile, say that there is no immediate health threat at present, since the virus is mostly transmitted through mosquito bites.
No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections.
Health authorities also made a decision to maintain the alert level at the current “attention” status, as the virus is less contagious.
“It depends on the incubation period, when the person might have gotten bitten by mosquitoes and if they contracted the disease, how long is that incubation for”, said Keith Kawaoka, deputy director for the state Department of Health.
The question remains: What is the right amount of time we can be confident that there is little to no risk of microcephaly caused by Zika in an unborn child?
How is Zika related to microcephaly? Microcephaly is linked to abnormally small heads, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.
“Infections certainly run in many, many millions” in Latin America, and thousands of cases of serious neurological effects from Zika could therefore be expected, said Christopher Dye, WHO’s strategy chief. It has affected more than 4,000 babies in Brazil. At the moment there is no evidence that infection poses a risk to future pregnancies. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms.
Zika generally induces mild symptoms that last up to a week in healthy adults.
How can Zika be contained?
Officials say that the man traveled to a Caribbean country where the virus is circulating.
How widespread is the outbreak? In fact Zika has continued to spread and is spreading fast with over 250 cases in the United States according to the CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention). For a full list of affected countries and regions visit: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html.
What is the history of the Zika virus? In the Pacific, Zika travel notices have been issued for American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tonga.
Of those, 18 were in pregnant women and another six were sexually transmitted. None of the cases originated from within the U.S. All cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners.
The first case was recently confirmed on March 2.
In addition, “the Department of Health continues to test pregnant women without symptoms of Zika”.
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In Asia, China and Japan have reported a few confirmed cases.
