thwart
01-22-2016, 08:24 PM
Now that Ebola has been pretty much eradicated (this outbreak, anyway), we've got a new virus to worry about: Zika. Transmitted by daytime biting Aedes mosquitoes in tropical areas, it tends to cause a mild flu-like illness, somewhat like dengue. The big concern is that if a pregnant woman gets this infection, she may deliver a child with microcephaly (smaller than normal head, usually also with incomplete brain development).
Some Countries Tell Women to Postpone Pregnancy
Public health authorities in the United States are reporting an increasing number of pregnant women who have come down with Zika during trips to regions covered by the CDC travel alert. The first case of a woman giving birth to a baby with microcephaly in the United States after becoming infected in the Zika zone occurred recently in Hawaii.
Brazil has counted a surge of almost 4000 cases of microcephaly in new-borns since October 2015. The abnormally small heads of these babies often are accompanied by incomplete brain development, which can lead to a lifetime of health problems, according to the CDC. In severe cases, newborns do not survive for long. Faced with these risks, Colombia and El Salvador have urged women to delay becoming pregnant, in the case of El Salvador, until 2018.
Can you imagine advising all women in the country to avoid pregnancy for two years.
The concern about the infection potentially causing a birth defect has caused some folks in the US to re-think their winter travel plans... especially since Mexico is one of the countries affected by the CDC travel alert.
Some Countries Tell Women to Postpone Pregnancy
Public health authorities in the United States are reporting an increasing number of pregnant women who have come down with Zika during trips to regions covered by the CDC travel alert. The first case of a woman giving birth to a baby with microcephaly in the United States after becoming infected in the Zika zone occurred recently in Hawaii.
Brazil has counted a surge of almost 4000 cases of microcephaly in new-borns since October 2015. The abnormally small heads of these babies often are accompanied by incomplete brain development, which can lead to a lifetime of health problems, according to the CDC. In severe cases, newborns do not survive for long. Faced with these risks, Colombia and El Salvador have urged women to delay becoming pregnant, in the case of El Salvador, until 2018.
Can you imagine advising all women in the country to avoid pregnancy for two years.
The concern about the infection potentially causing a birth defect has caused some folks in the US to re-think their winter travel plans... especially since Mexico is one of the countries affected by the CDC travel alert.