Department of Health Secretary Janette Garin said that the American patient had not traveled to a country other than the Philippines, meaning she had contracted the virus locally.
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According to recent reports out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it appears Zika is spread through semen.
As students make their way back from Spring Break, Temple health officials want students to know Zika Virus has been spreading quickly, but is a minimal threat to most.
Despite heavy news coverage of the mosquito-borne virus, many Americans are misinformed about the disease’s symptoms and risks, a new survey shows.
In the meantime, in late February France confirmed its first European case of Zika being transmitted through sexual contact.
The US is investigating more than a dozen possible cases of Zika in people who may have been infected through sex.
The WHO is also hosting a Zika virus countermeasure research and development meeting, which began on Mar 7 and wraps up tomorrow.
Sexual transmission is “relatively common” and health services in Zika-affected areas should be ready for potential increases in cases of neurological syndromes such as microcephaly and congenital malformations, it said.
“This Zika virus has not given me sleepless nights”, he said.
Microcephaly is a condition where the head is smaller than normal and may lead to a child experiencing a variety of other health challenges including physical and speech functions, seizure, hyperactivity, coordination problems and other brain/neurological disorders. CIDEIM scientists are studying the genetics and biology of Aedes Aegypti mosquito which transmits the Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses, to control their reproduction and resistance to insecticides.
Health officials urge men who have been to outbreak areas to abstain from unprotected sex. “We can now conclude that Zika virus is neurotropic, preferentially affecting tissues in the brain and brain stem of the developing fetus”. Most people affected will have symptoms that last for less than one week.
“Women have to be particularly careful if they’re traveling to these areas, or if their [sexual] partners have traveled to these areas”, Raupp cautions. The CDC recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds.
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Last week, Cerus Corp. and Puerto Rico’s largest blood center signed an agreement to implement pathogen reduction technology, a system known as INTERCEPT, to help protect Puerto Rico’s blood supply during the Zika virus outbreak, according to a Mar 3 statement.
