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January 23, 2016

CDC issues travel warning for pregnant women due to Zika Virus

 Please be aware that there is a new virus, spread by mosquitos, which has triggered the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to issue a travel warning for all pregnant women going to affected areas.  The Zika virus is spread by mosquitos of the Andes species and typically causes fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (pink eye).  However, the virus is also causing birth defects  (small heads and damaged brains known as microcephaly) in babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.  Currently, it seems that the risk is greatest if a woman is exposed to the virus during her first trimester.  Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent catching this virus and there is no treatment available either.

The CDC has, therefore, advised pregnant women to avoid going to areas where Zika is being transmitted which includes:
Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Suriname, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde, and Samoa.  These are all tropical countries in which Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for transmitting the virus lives year round.

Travelers to these areas are advised to avoid or minimize mosquito bites by using screens, mosquito netting, and wearing long sleeves and pants and using insect repellent at all times.

Of note, twelve cases of Zika have been confirmed in the US but all these infections occurred from mosquito bites while traveling.

For answers to more questions click here, and here  and here,