Patient blood samples sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would later confirm the first recorded outbreak of what was then an obscure pathogen. “There was just a paucity of literature that was out there”.
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The Zika hearing was reminiscent of another in 2014 involving Frieden and Fauci when they faced even tougher questions on the US response to the Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa. Out of the 4000, 400 cases were confirmed as that of microcephaly and the presence of the Zika virus was also established, but the association between the two was not confirmed. It is only a matter of time before the pandemic wings of the Zika virus take flight. Reflecting the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in many parts of the Americas, a Catholic group appealed to Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow Church members to “follow their conscience” and use contraception or to let women have abortions to protect themselves against Zika.
“Microcephaly has been occurring in Brazil for years”.
Second-trimester ultrasounds in Brazil didn’t spot any problems but a third-trimester scan when the woman returned to Europe did. “There are a lot of negatives, and there are a lot of unknowns right now”.
The virus has been connected to a birth defect causing babies to be born with underdeveloped brains and small heads.
“This is not an illness as severe as influenza, where we see a high fever, aches and pains”, said Rattay.
“One of the things we’re ordering is the virus itself”, said Myles.
State and federal health officials will discuss the Zika virus, symptoms, treatments and other precautions with doctors and others who work with pregnant women. A few cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome have also been reported.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said in a statement on Wednesday that it received notification late Tuesday of the case from the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).
Also on Wednesday, European researchers reported new findings on the impact Zika can have on an unborn baby.
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In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott declared a health emergency last week after at least nine new cases of the virus were found in four counties. Sixteen cases have been identified in Florida so far, all acquired outside the country and none involving pregnant women. Hawaii officials said the baby’s mother likely contracted the virus while living in Brazil past year and passed it on while her child was in the womb. Pregnant U.S. government employees or their pregnant spouses who are covered under State’s medical program have been offered medical evacuation from areas under CDC travel alerts for Zika or have the option of shortening their tours of duty.
