On Friday, county health officials said a Carrollton man contracted the virus on a recent visit to the Dominican Republic.
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The birth defect is marked by babies born with brain abnormalities and undersized heads. He predicts the first vaccines will require multiple doses and will be given to women and girls reaching childbearing age to prevent birth defects.
Meanwhile, San Diego County has become a veritable California hotbed for the virus, second only to Los Angeles, according to the California Public Health Department’s latest weekly tally of travel-associated Zika cases, compiled from the beginning of 2015. That means that, while pregnant women and women planning on having children were already pretty anxious about Zika, parents of toddlers and older children are now becoming concerned as well.
The CDC recommends women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to affected areas where Zika is locally transmitted, including much of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Zika virus is spread mainly by mosquitoes.
In both the new study and the one focused on French Polynesia, most patients with Guillain-Barre developed paralysis about a week after fighting off Zika symptoms. The Zika test can be used on the serum (blood or possibly saliva) of infected individuals to detect viruses at significantly lower concentrations than previously possible.
Dr. Megan Davies, chief of the epidemiology section of the North Carolina Division of Public Health said there is no reason to worry about Zika in North Carolina. Outbreaks of those bugs in the United States have been limited. These symptoms include, fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes) – symptoms that can be mitigated with rest, fluids, and everyday medication.
Dr. Bill Petrie, Director of MRCU said, “We have wanted to remove this invasive pest for a long time, but this has proven very hard using now available tools on an island the size of Grand Cayman, so we have been looking for new approaches”. The CDC has not released any more information about the women or their pregnancies. The mosquitoes that carry Zika bite during the day and night. It could be applied to a number of other viruses.
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Anyone traveling to the affected areas is urged to cover up, use repellent, and if you are planning to become pregnant, avoid the areas entirely.
