The CDC has confirmed that the mosquito-borne virus is responsible for causing severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and often with brains that do not develop properly. There are two previous cases imported from Puerto Rico, and one case each from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, St. Lucia and St. Martin.
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Pennsylvania had the first USA case of Zika not spread by mosquitoes or sex.
Because the virus can be sexually transmitted if a male partner has been exposed to Zika, couples should wait six months to try to conceive. “The Zika crisis makes it impossible to ignore the need for full access to safe, affordable and effective reproductive health care options for women-no matter where they live”.
Almost 80 percent of people infected with the virus will have no symptoms. Hover over each state for more information.
A total of 820 cases of Zika virus have been reported in US states and the District of Columbia as of June 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Already, restrictions on blood donations from people who have traveled to Zika-infected areas are limiting the supply in parts of Northern and Central California.
The symptoms of Zika include a fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes.
As a precaution, the Cincinnati Health Department recommended that travelers returning to the USA from an area with Zika should try to prevent mosquito bites for up to three weeks even if they do not feel sick. All but one of the cases were acquired by travelling to affected countries.
The state’s only mosquito breed that could carry Zika is the Aedes albopictus, or the Asian tiger mosquito, but the positive case does not change the county’s mosquito program, Damsker noted. There have been no cases of infections spreading through mosquitoes in the U.S.
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The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.
