Zika Virus Treatment: CDC Advises Pregant Women to Avoid Traveling to Latin America
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised women to avoid traveling to Puerto Rico and 13 other Latin American and Carribean countries after the Zika virus was reported to be the cause of brain damage in newborns.
Scientists fear that the Zika virus is the culprit behind the serious brain damage in newborn infants in Latin America. CDC's travel advisory covers 14 countries including Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Martinique, Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela, Suriname, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Jezebel reports.
"We believe this is a fairly serious problem," Jezebel quotes Dr. Lyle R. Petersen, CDC's chief of vector-borne diseases. "This virus is spreading throughout the Americas. We didn't feel we could wait."
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An American woman reportedly contracted the said virus after traveling to Brazil. Her child, an infant born in Hawaii with microcephaly, is the first Zika case in the United States, Health Aim reports.
The CDC still has not confirmed how the virus crosses the placenta, but it has advised all travelers to wear long-sleeved tops to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes in the areas where the virus is rampant. A distant relative of the dengue virus, Zika is carried by the Aedes aegyptus and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in tropical regions.
The virus usually thrives in wet lowlands, warm temperature, and other areas where mosquitoes have breeding places.
Individuals who are infected by the Zika virus most commonly exhibit fever, rash, conjunctivitis, and joint pain. The illness lasts from a few days to one week, the report details. Zika can cause microcephaly and brain damage.
As of now, there is still no vaccine for Zika. There are also still no known treatments or therapies for the virus.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned those traveling to the Latin Americas to avoid mosquito bites. Pregnant women are also advised to take extra care to avoid contracting the virus.
