It also can be hard to determine whether someone has contracted Zika, because some infected people do not show any symptoms.
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But the San Francisco Department of Public Health was quick to announced that there was no risk to others.
A pregnant woman who traveled to San Francisco from Central America tested positive, state health officials told city officials Thursday. Travelers to areas with cases of zika virus infection are at risk of being infected with the zika virus. “Although there are no reports of transmission of Zika virus from infected patients to health care personnel or other patients, minimizing exposure to body fluids is important to reduce the possibility of such transmission”.
The main cause of concern is with pregnant patients, mostly the fetus and the development of microcephaly, a deficiency in which the baby’s head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development. Along with avoiding all unnecessary travel to areas worst-hit by the outbreak, the CDC is continually emphasizing the importance of enhancing mosquito bite-prevention efforts.
While isolated cases of the zika virus have already been detected in a number of nations globally, it has yet to take hold or spread to local mosquito populations of the American mainland. As of now, there isn’t a United States mosquito-borne Zika virus. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed that it can be sexually transmitted.
Global health officials suspect a connection between pregnant woman catching the virus and a birth defect called microcephaly in newborns. If travel can not be avoided, persons in these high risk groups should rigorously practice mosquito bite precautions and notify their health care provider if any symptoms of illness occur within two weeks of travel. With something “scary” like Zika, misinformation is bound to spread.
Republicans in Congress may be ready to act on funding for the fight against the Zika virus.
For more on Zika virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Common symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis and lasts for several days, but has not resulted in serious illness for the carrier.
“There’s the sexual transmission of Zika, [so] if you have people travelling to countries where there is Zika then there is also an issue with that”.
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She said: “I think we’ll definitely see cases in Scotland”, adding: “Here in Scotland there’s not been that much alarm simply because mosquitoes are not a problem here as they are in Miami, Puerto Rico and Brazil”.
