USA health officials are strongly urging doctors to ask all pregnant women about a possible Zika infection at every checkup.
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People visiting Brazil for the 2016 Olympics won’t significantly add to the global spread of Zika virus, according to a new analysis. The new recommendation expands the timeframe from 10 days. If you have visited recently an area known for transmission of Zika, you should avoid unprotected sex because that is a known way of transferring the virus, he said.
A woman in Slovenia who was pregnant with a baby with microcephaly was previously found to have been carrying the virus, but she made a decision to have an abortion.
The baby, born on Monday, is believed to be the only recorded case of Zika-related microcephaly in Europe, the country’s Ministry of Health said. Health departments, especially in areas along the Texas-Mexico border, are preparing for the expected arrival of the Zika Virus, carried by the aegypti mosquito, which is endemic to the region.
Some travelers to areas with Zika will become infected while traveling but will not become sick until they return home and they might not have any symptoms.
While mosquitoes are by far the most common form of transmission, cases of sexual transmission can occur, either male-to-female, female-to-male or female-to-female. Sexual contact can spread Zika, too.
There will be an uptick of cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies, in September and October, Ruiz said, when pregnant women infected during the peak of the epidemic will give birth.
Also, the CDC now recommends a Zika blood test for all pregnant women with possible exposure to the virus, even if they show no symptoms, which can include a fever, joint pain or other mild ailments. The woman was not pregnant.
The surge in birth defects has been much more noticeable in Brazil, the country hardest hit by Zika. “Additionally, they should abstain from sex or use condoms if their partner has traveled to one of these areas”, Person said.
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Other than herd immunity, there is now no vaccine to shield people and pregnant women against Zika, which the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency earlier this year.
