The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is urging residents, particularly pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant, to avoid traveling to Puerto Rico and other countries that have been affected by Zika virus.
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“Go visit my attractive Puerto Rico!”
After talking with their doctor, people who have the symptoms would usually get tested at the CDC in Atlanta. The virus, which is carried through mosquitos, has been known to cause birth defects. But a year ago doctors in Brazil saw a dramatic increase in the number of children born with unusually small heads to women who were infected during pregnancy, identified as microcephaly. They are now entering discussions to commercialize the technology and possibly test it in the field, says Collins. But even if the brain seemed to be developing normally, still other studies have found stillbirths, poor fetal growth and other problems. There were nine cases as of February and one baby was born with microcephaly. Studies better created to answer that question are under way now. The funding could help institutions such as SUNY Upstate “advance their important work to protect pregnant mothers and their children – before it’s too late”, according to Schumer’s office.
The Cayman government approved the full deployment after what they called a successful, peer-reviewed trial in 2010, Bill Petrie, the director of the British territory’s Mosquito Research and Control Unit, said in a statement.
And because the RNA sensors are programmable, meaning they can be designed using algorithms to target specific sequences, the technology can be quickly adjusted to test for many other types of viruses. There is no treatment for Zika, but those who were infected may need ultrasound exams to check how the fetus is developing.
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The virus is most commonly transmitted through mosquitos, and given Central Virginia’s humid climate, Richmond ranks within the top 50 of cities most at risk of transmission. But the virus can be spread through sexual intercourse, too, and it lasts longer in semen than in blood. Hundreds more take flights from the NY area airports and it is to these frequent travelers, along with vacationers traveling to Puerto Rico and other Zika affected areas that the state will be handing out flyers in both English and Spanish that urge precautions. Oxitec and officials in the Florida Keys have proposed testing there as well and are awaiting US regulatory approval.
