Last week’s alert included Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname and Venezuela.
Advertisement
Transmitted by mosquito, the Zika virus can cause birth defects in pregnant women who are infected, such as microcephaly, where the infant is born with an abnormally small head and suffers from a undeveloped brain.
There is no prevention or treatment, which is why the best course of action is for travelers to danger areas is to prevent mosquito bites by using mosquito repellant and covering exposed skin. The Brazilian Health Ministry says 80 percent of those infected showed no symptoms, but those who did showed fever, rashes, and muscle pain for several days.
El Salvador’s Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza says the government decided to make the announcement because more than 5,000 cases of the Zika virus had been detected in his country. “And that rise is closely associated to the rise in cases of Zika virus”. But then came the spike in microcephaly: Since October the country has recorded 3,893 suspected cases, compared with fewer than 150 for all of 2014.
On Tuesday, January 26 at 11 a.m. ET, NPR’s Goats and Soda blog will host a live video Q&A on the Zika virus with NPR correspondents Lourdes Garcia-Navarro and Jason Beaubien.
State health officials said the three cases found in NY involved testing in the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany.
Since it’s not clear if the virus even causes microcephaly, it’s not at all clear what the risks are to a pregnant woman or her baby.
The ACOG, which is the largest organization that represents obstetricians and gynecologists in the US, is also warning women who are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant, to avoid traveling to countries were the virus has been detected. No other country besides Brazil has reported an increase in birth defects yet. If you must travel to these areas, or you are trying to become pregnant and are planning travel, the agency says talk to your healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
The only way to prevent any of this is to not get bitten by infected mosquitos.
A positive test result for Zika in a pregnant woman does not necessarily mean a baby will develop microcephaly, Landon said.
Advertisement
CDC officials also said Friday they were working with authorities in Brazil to investigate a potential link between the Zika virus and some cases of an autoimmune disorder known as Guillain-Barre, which can lead to paralysis. Dengue comes in four strains and its worst effects come after a person gets infected with more than one strain.
