CDC investigators say that the case shows there is still more to learn about Zika, but emphasized that mosquitoes are still the virus’s main mode of transmission.
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Dr. Angela Dunn, deputy state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health, speaks during a news conference Monday, July 18, 2016, in Salt Lake City.
The mosquitoes known to transmit the Zika virus have not been found in North Dakota, and the cases confirmed in the state have all been in people who have traveled to countries where the mosquito is found.
DCPH advises recent travelers with Zika virus symptoms, as well as individuals diagnosed with Zika virus, to protect themselves from further mosquito bites, and also to practice safe sex.
He somehow infected another person who’d been helping to care for him.
The inquiry into the two infections could shed light on the medical mystery surrounding a virus that’s still stumping doctors.
Zika is transmitted primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito of the genus Aedes, which bites during the daytime.
Signs of Zika have been found in blood, urine, semen and saliva.
The first case of Zika virus in a pregnant woman has been reported in West Virginia.
Zika is a confusing virus, and its twists and turns have been making healthcare professionals look silly for some time. He’d traveled earlier this year to a country where Zika is actively spreading.
Additionally, Zika virus can be spread through anal, oral, and vaginal sex.
Staples said the infected caregiver recovered quickly. Pregnant women should not travel to any area with Zika virus.
“It may just be an extraordinary circumstance that’s not really generalizable”, he said. They have not ruled out the possibility of the elderly patient bringing back a mosquito from another region. The caregiver had not traveled out of the country and there is no sign of the mosquitoes that spread Zika in Utah. They were eradicated and have not been detected since. Another mission of this special team is trapping and testing local mosquitoes, said CDC’s officials.
Drain standing water around their homes to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
While Utah crews are checking hotspots, they also are urging people to look in their own backyards.
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The virus is now active in 50 countries according to the CDC, and although there haven’t been any locally acquired CASes reported in the contiguous U.S., cases have been reported in Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
