State health officials have confirmed the first case of a West Virginian with the Zika Virus.
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Currently, Gupta said no local transmissions of the virus have been reported in the United States.
Health bosses in Dallas County have said they know of at least one patient within the state who they believe contracted the virus by having sex with a fellow traveler, the Dallas Morning News reported. Most of the destinations in the travel warning are in Latin America or the Caribbean.
State health officials would not say where the testing was done, whether in a doctor’s office, medical clinic or hospital emergency room.
Sparks advises anyone traveling to those countries to take measures to avoid mosquito bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that kind of mosquito is rare above 6,500 feet (2,000 meters). Its most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
Zika is an infectious disease spread by the bite of a mosquito. Zika virus causes – at worst – only mild symptom in most people. “The person subsequently developed an illness consistent with Zika virus infection and was tested per guidance from CDC and KDHE”. The only cases that have been confirmed in the US have been from travelers returning from other countries. Concerns continue to grow for pregnant women because the virus is suspected of causing a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is abnormally smaller.
There is no vaccine to prevent infection and no specific antiviral treatment for Zika virus infection.
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Frieden said thousands of pregnant women across Puerto Rico will likely be infected, given the island’s population density and the custom of using windows without screens. Recent evidence suggests a link between infection in pregnant women and infants born with microcephaly.
