The Health Minister of Puerto Rica on Friday confirmed the first case of Zika-related microcephaly on the island in a foetus.
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Microcephaly was detected in the unidentified fetus during pregnancy and the fetus was “turned over”, the Associated Press reports, to US health officials where it tested positive for Zika.
Few details were given about the reported case, and Puerto Rico officials did not reveal if the pregnancy ended in miscarriage or abortion, NBC News said.
A health department statement referred to a male fetus that showed “severe microcephaly and calcifications in the brain accompanied by Zika-wide presence of the virus”. “Having robust surveillance systems allowed us to detect this case early”.
CDC officials declined to comment on Rius’ statement. Congress will provide the money without cutting other government spending.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokeswoman Erin Sykes said: “This case of Zika virus disease in a pregnancy saddens and concerns us as it highlights the potential for additional cases and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes”.
Last month, the CDC definitively concluded that the virus causes severe fetal abnormalities. Although Zika was historically considered a benign virus resulting in mild flu like symptoms, recent investigations have discovered the alarming connection between the virus and the development of microcephaly, in which an infant is born with a much smaller head size and an underdeveloped brain.
In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, Nelson warned that an estimated 800,000 Puerto Ricans – American citizens, Nelson emphasized – may be infected with Zika by the end of the year.
Zika is the virus that has already caused well-documented birth defects. “As summer approaches, there is a very real threat that Zika virus could gain a foothold in the United States”. The biggest danger is to the babies of pregnant women. The Health Ministry confirmed on Tuesday the first case of the Zika virus in the country, according to local media. The spread of the virus in Mexico, which has reported 272 cases, has local and state officials in Texas on high alert, according to the article.
“What would we do, how would we get people help, how will we keep people aware of what’s going on, how do we make sure that we’re paying attention to the cases that exist, that we’re keeping track of the mosquitoes, and making sure that we have a plan just in case Zika does come to Pennsylvania”, Dr. Robinson said. PAHO has been instrumental in assisting us in our response and we still have in stock right now some mosquito nets from our previous chikungunya response which we are utilizing in our hospitals in the treatment and management of patients who are ill and admitted from vector related diseases. The woman’s partner had been in Puerto Rico in April.
Scott spoke recently in Washington D.C., after he met with Republican Congressmen about Zika funding.
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The institute would not say where in Germany the woman lives.
