Health authorities have confirmed that a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus in Victoria. And Maryland public health officials said Thursday that they anticipate more cases in the state.
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The Oregon woman had traveled to a country where Zika is in circulation, and was experiencing symptoms of the illness when she was tested, Oregon public health physician Dr. Richard Leman said.
A Rockville, Maryland, company called GenArraytion is working to eradicate the Zika virus in time for the Olympics this summer in Rio. There have been recent reports that Zika virus may also be spread through blood transfusion and sexual contact.
Zika virus is transmitted primarily through the bites of Aedes species mosquitoes. Transmitted by mosquitoes, most people have few symptoms. He cautioned that full-fledged availability of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne virus would take longer.
The woman’s symptoms were typical of Zika – fever, joint pain and rash, said Jana Rush, chief epidemiologist for the Cleveland Department of Health.
Before this case, OR recorded three travel-associated Zika cases from 2014.
Australian Federal Police officers deployed overseas had also contracted the virus, but there have been no recorded cases among them in 2016.
One of the major concerns of the virus is that it appears to be linked to microcephaly in babies.
Transmission occurs when those mosquitoes bite a person infected with the Zika virus and then transmit the virus to another person.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who incidentally was at a hearing today about President Barack Obama’s request for $1.8 billion to fight Zika, said in a statement she’s “deeply concerned” about the spread of the virus.
But tests for this more fatal disease which kills hundreds in Brazil each year, proved negative, leading to the patient being positively tested for Zika.
Zika, however, is suspected of causing microcephaly, a birth defect marked by an abnormally small head, and pregnant women are urged to avoid travel to affected areas.
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The World Health Organization declared an emergency over the cases last week, prompting research and aid to be fast-tracked.
