Dean said the best ways to avoid the virus are to take precautions when travelling to areas with Zika, and when engaging in sexual contact with someone at risk for Zika infection. The woman says she hasn’t traveled outside of the county in months. They’re also advised to practice safe sex, since the virus can be transmitted by all types of sex.
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“Pregnant women and couples planning to have children need to be especially cautious because Zika can cause significant harm to a developing fetus”, Smith said.
Two nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural MS were found slain in their home, and there were signs of a break-in and their vehicle was missing, officials said Thursday.
If passed on to expectant mothers, the virus can cause severe birth defects such as microcephaly – where the baby’s brain doesn’t form correctly.
Statewide, a total of 647 people have contracted Zika, including 43 local cases transmitted by mosquitoes, 534 travel-related cases and 70 pregnant women in unidentified counties.
A team of experts across several disciplines at CDPH is working with local public health departments, vector control agencies and the medical community to ensure that California is responding aggressively and appropriately to the emerging threat of Zika virus. “The Zika virus demands immediate federal action and I will impress upon our congressional members the urgency to protect our residents and visitors”.
“The finding may be important for women, not only pregnant women”, said Iwasaki.
To learn more about sexual transmission of Zika and how that might affect fetal development, scientists used mice to study vaginal Zika infection.
Still, officials encouraged citizens to use insect repellents containing DEET, picaradin, IR3535, lemon oil or eucalyptus oil to keep mosquitoes at bay.
Non-native to California, Aedes aegypti is a black-and-white, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans.
Reporting Aug. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors believe that a blood donor passed along the typically mosquito-borne virus in late January to two hospitalized patients who needed transfusions. Ms. Wroblewski said she is confident US labs can now meet “significant demand” for Zika tests. Researchers expected to see a response in only the genetically altered mice.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on Zika.
Choose a hotel or lodging with air conditioning or with screens on windows and doors.
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So, if you feel sick, how do you know you should get tested?
