Share

US FDA steps in to cut Zika transmission risk through surgeries

These mosquitoes are not found in the Granite State.

Advertisement

The Government of South Australia confirmed a 14th nationwide case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Department for Health and Ageing (SA Health) said on Wednesday.

Officials are not identifying the patient “to protect the identity of the woman and her unborn child”.

Pregnant women are recommended by the CDC to delay travel to places where the Zika virus is spreading.

Officials said sexual transmission of the virus is not as common as it is through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

“Anyone who is planning to travel to a country with active Zika virus transmission should consult with their health care provider before leaving”, she said, “especially if they are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant”.

SA Health announced that the man, the first to be confirmed with Zika virus in 2016, has acquired the illness overseas.

The state can now test for the Zika virus at a Rocky Hill laboratory instead of sending samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The case involves a child between the ages of two and 10 years old who recently traveled to an affected country.

The woman is not pregnant and has fully recovered, officials said. So far, there are no confirmed reports of Zika transmission by mosquitoes in the United States. Mosquitoes become infected after biting an infected person and then can transmit the virus to other people through bites.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the rise in Zika-linked birth defects an global emergency. The virus can also be sexually transmitted, though there is not much data about that risk.

Men who have developed symptoms that could be due to Zika virus infection (fever, headache, aches, pains, rash, itchy eyes) are advised to practice safe sex, by wearing a condom, for six months after return.

Advertisement

For anyone who does plan to visit the affected countries, prevention is the best approach to avoiding Zika virus infection.

Mother holding her baby with microcephaly in Brazil