[From article]
U.S. health officials are reporting new cases of a mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.
Three cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in Florida, and two pregnant women tested positive in Illinois. Texas and Hawaii also have confirmed cases, including a baby born with a birth defect.
The growing cases at home are traced back to overseas, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a travel alert over the virus, warning pregnant women to avoid some of the most popular American vacation destinations, reports Elaine Quijano of CBS News' digital network, CBSN.
In the handful of confirmed cases in the U.S., those infected traveled outside of the country and tested positive once they got home.
The Zika virus is caused by the Aedes mosquito. It's been determined women can pass the virus to their babies, causing birth defects.
The CDC's warning to pregnant women is clear: If you have the symptoms, see a doctor and get tested for an infection.
All of the Zika cases in the U.S. involve foreign travel. The Florida victims traveled to Colombia and Venezuela and the two pregnant women in Illinois visited Central America and the Caribbean. A Texas man was also diagnosed after he returned from El Salvador in November.
[. . .]
Brazil is claiming thousands of babies have been born with brain injuries. Officials there are urging women - who can wait - to hold off on becoming pregnant until the crisis is under control.
In less than 200 days, Brazil is set to host millions for the 2016 Olympics. There is no vaccine and no course of treatment for the Zika virus.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zika-virus-aedes-mosquito-birth-defects-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-travel-alert/
CBS NEWS
January 20, 2016, 7:13 AM
Concerns over Zika virus outbreak growing in U.S.
* * *
[From article]
Pregnant women who have traveled to regions where the Zika virus is prevalent should be tested for the infection, according to new guidance from US health officials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said doctors should ask pregnant women about their travel and certain symptoms.
And, if there are signs of infection or reason to believe the fetus may be affected, the woman should be tested and ultrasounds should monitor the baby's development, the CDC recommended.
Zika is spread through mosquito bites - with outbreaks currently in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The tropical virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect in which the head is smaller than normal - and the brain may not have developed properly.
There is no vaccine for the virus, but a developer said it created a genetically modified mosquito that reduces the number of mosquitoes spreading Zika in Brazil.
Zika infections typically only cause a mild illness - if at all.
Most people with Zika don't develop symptoms, but those that do usually only develop a fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
Those symptoms rarely last longer than a week.
However, there's mounting evidence that the infection can cause birth defects if acquired by a pregnant woman.
Yet, in the Brazil cases, most of the mothers appeared to have been infected during their first trimester.
However, CDC officials have said that there is some evidence the birth defect can occur later in pregnancy.
The CDC issued guidance last week that women should consider postponing trips to 14 destinations.
Those places include Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname and Venezuela.
Women who are trying to get pregnant - or thinking of getting pregnant - were also advised to talk to their doctors before traveling to those areas.
They were also advised to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3407261/CDC-Ask-pregnant-women-trips-Zika-outbreak-areas.html
Test pregnant women for Zika virus, say CDC experts - amid concerns over link to 'incomplete brain development in babies'
CDC recommends doctors test pregnant women for Zika virus
The guidance only covers women who traveled to countries with the virus
That includes popular vacation spots in Latin America and Caribbean
Zika is linked to a birth defect where a baby has an abnormally small head
The virus is passed through a type of mosquito called Aedes
A developer said it created modified Aedes to reduce the virus's spread
By LISA RYAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:23 EST, 19 January 2016 | UPDATED: 16:36 EST, 20 January 2016
Concerns over Zika virus outbreak growing in U.S.
* * *
[From article]
Pregnant women who have traveled to regions where the Zika virus is prevalent should be tested for the infection, according to new guidance from US health officials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said doctors should ask pregnant women about their travel and certain symptoms.
And, if there are signs of infection or reason to believe the fetus may be affected, the woman should be tested and ultrasounds should monitor the baby's development, the CDC recommended.
Zika is spread through mosquito bites - with outbreaks currently in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The tropical virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect in which the head is smaller than normal - and the brain may not have developed properly.
There is no vaccine for the virus, but a developer said it created a genetically modified mosquito that reduces the number of mosquitoes spreading Zika in Brazil.
Zika infections typically only cause a mild illness - if at all.
Most people with Zika don't develop symptoms, but those that do usually only develop a fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
Those symptoms rarely last longer than a week.
However, there's mounting evidence that the infection can cause birth defects if acquired by a pregnant woman.
Yet, in the Brazil cases, most of the mothers appeared to have been infected during their first trimester.
However, CDC officials have said that there is some evidence the birth defect can occur later in pregnancy.
The CDC issued guidance last week that women should consider postponing trips to 14 destinations.
Those places include Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname and Venezuela.
Women who are trying to get pregnant - or thinking of getting pregnant - were also advised to talk to their doctors before traveling to those areas.
They were also advised to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3407261/CDC-Ask-pregnant-women-trips-Zika-outbreak-areas.html
Test pregnant women for Zika virus, say CDC experts - amid concerns over link to 'incomplete brain development in babies'
CDC recommends doctors test pregnant women for Zika virus
The guidance only covers women who traveled to countries with the virus
That includes popular vacation spots in Latin America and Caribbean
Zika is linked to a birth defect where a baby has an abnormally small head
The virus is passed through a type of mosquito called Aedes
A developer said it created modified Aedes to reduce the virus's spread
By LISA RYAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:23 EST, 19 January 2016 | UPDATED: 16:36 EST, 20 January 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment