In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil.
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“A 27-year-old Romanian woman tested positive for Zika”. Men who traveled to a country with Zika transmission and had Zika symptoms should consider using condoms or not having sex for at least six months after the symptoms began.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, symptoms associated with the Zika virus last between seven and 10 days.
This could be because Zika, unlike H1N1 or SARS only affects a subset of the population – pregnant women, women who may become pregnant and their partners – making it less alarming for individual travelers who are not part of this group.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women in any trimester avoid travel to any area where Zika virus is spreading. The trash that enters the USA from Mexico includes a significant amount of tires, which forms a suitable habitat for the Aedes aegypti mosquito to grow.
Although Vonn is not scheduled to compete in the Summer Olympics, she says the same concerns would apply if the Winter Games were in Rio: “I’m not sure, honestly, what I would decide…”
The virus can cause brain damage and serious birth defects in infants born to infected mothers, and can be transmitted sexually and by mosquitoes.
What else should I know? However, Zika virus infection transmitted through breast feeding has not yet been reported.
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Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend was planning to attend the summer Games in Brazil and cheer on the US team while appearing in TV segments and promoting Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Under Armour sportswear, but she doesn’t want to risk getting caught out by the Zika virus, which is prevalent in the area. The guidelines for when to perform diagnostic testing in adults and neonates is still a work in progress, and are very complicated.
