Zika can cause abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains in infants, or microcephaly. The baby girl, who died shortly after birth, had microcephaly and other defects associated with the mosquito-borne virus that is raising alarms in Florida, the only USA state where the virus has been confirmed to have been passed locally rather than imported from people who picked it up while traveling overseas.
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While most people fully recover a week after infection, if they don’t make the effort protect themselves after experiencing even mild symptoms, another mosquito can bite them and contract the virus from their bloodstream, which can then be transferred to the next person who is bitten.
The ongoing Zika outbreak was first detected a year ago in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly. “Because it is likely we’re gonna hav”. While the vast majority are travel related, the Department of Health on Tuesday reported there were 21 cases of non-travel related Zika in the Sunshine State.
Most people infected with Zika virus may not have any symptoms. The affected people have few symptoms, but the disease can be dramatic for pregnant women because the virus can cause serious fetal malformations.
Most Zika infections have occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, surveillance has not identified any of the mosquitoes that transmit Zika in Wisconsin.
This brings the total to 22 non travel associated Zika cases.
“We consider the likelihood of there being local mosquito borne transmission here very low”, Dr. Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control with the city’s health department, told the New York Times. The North Carolina Division of Public Health is using the funds to hire entomology and laboratory experts, and provide aid to counties across the state. The Merced County Department of Public Health confirmed earlier this week that two residents had tested positive for the virus and are believed to have been infected while traveling overseas.
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A man who manages homeowner associations for about 60,000 local people told News4Jax Wednesday that he’s anxious not enough is being done to combat the Zika virus. Some volunteers are going to get a second shot after eight to twelve weeks, and some of them will get the third shot twenty weeks after receiving the first shot.
