Mary Beth Kelly, a registered nurse certified in infection control and a patient safety officer at AtlantiCare, said the most serious outcomes from the disease are birth defects in babies born to infected pregnant mothers.
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This calls for a heightened vector control in the area, the health secretary said.
“Although it is not certain that these types of close contact were the source of transmission, family contacts should be aware that blood and body fluids of severely ill patients might be infectious”, the officials said in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Malaysia and the Philippines have also reported cases.
Island city-state Singapore reported its first locally infected Zika patient on August 27 and since then, the number of reported infections has soared to more than 300.
On Saturday teams of 25 ventured into the community to locate breeding grounds of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The monkey study closely mimicked a Zika infection during the third trimester of pregnancy, allowing the researchers to investigate the cause-and-effect relationships between the virus and brain injury in a developing fetus.
As part of the investigation of the 6th Zika case, DOH conducted household survey to establish relevant mosquito larva or pupa link to the confirmed cases.
2,964 confirmed cases of Zika in U.S. States and District of Columbia.
Public health experts also point out that it is high time the Health Department draws up a special advisory for pregnant women or those planning to have a child so that the public has a clear idea about the risk profile.
Ng said the state has initiated measures to curb the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, which spreads the both the Zika and the more risky dengue viruses, and called on all to help eradicate the vectors.
Mosquitoes have now infected 50 people with Zika virus in Miami, where some doctors are having a hard time giving advice on how people can protect themselves.
Spokesman for Ministry of Public Health, Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said, “Since January, we have recorded about 200 cases and over the past three weeks, we have confirmed an average of 20 new cases per week”, Reuters reported. If you enjoyed this, please SHARE IT so other readers can find it and enjoy it.What are your thoughts? Just recently, the state reported that 84 pregnant women have tested positive for the virus, including 15 who have already given birth. Mosquitoes do transmit other diseases, such as heartworm disease and West Nile virus, from pet to pet.
CDC has tools for state and local health departments to prepare for Zika. They said they also detected vision problems and Zika virus genetic material in the eyes, liver and kidneys.
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“Our results remove any lingering doubt that the Zika virus is incredibly unsafe to the developing foetus and provide details as to how brain injury develops”, said Kristina Adams Waldorf, professor of obstetrics at the University of Washington and lead author of the study.
