The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared Zika an global public health emergency, a decision prompted by growing concern that it could cause birth defects.
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Officials say the two cases are not linked.
To protect the patient’s privacy, they have not said whether the so-called “index case” is a man or a woman – or what part of the state he or she lives in.
Many infected people show no illness and most of those who get sick have flu-likes symptoms which last about a week.
There have been about 66 U.S. Zika cases, including two in Pennsylvania, with all but one of those having acquired the virus outside the United States.
There is now no cure or vaccine. Residents who have travelled to an area with Zika infection should contact their personal healthcare provider who will work with the Putnam County Department of Health to facilitate the proper testing procedure through the state Department of Health laboratory at Wadsworth Center.
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.
Dr. David Hughes said cases of pregnancy aside, the Zika virus usually results in a mild infection, and 80 percent of those infected often do not get serious symptoms.
The Zika virus is suspected of causing a rare but potentially devastating birth defect, an abnormally small head, which can indicate underlying brain damage. In one case in Dallas a person was infected through sexual transmission, the CDC said.
Kenya topped the medal table at last year’s World Athletics Championships and the country’s absence would be severely felt on the track as they boast numerous best middle and long-distance runners in the world. The CDC official didn’t say where they lived.
The Zika virus is now found in Mexico, throughout the Caribbean, and in South America except for Chile.
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Although it is too cold right now for mosquito bites in the state, Irwin said concern will grow this summer when mosquitoes are rampant, and an estimated 200,000 US citizens travel to Brazil for the Olympics.
