Travel alert for women after first baby is born in the U.S. with rare Zika virus

A baby born with brain damage in Hawaii has tested positive for the rare mosquito-borne Zika virus, health officials have confirmed. It is understood that it is the first case of the virus, which is linked to serious defects, in a birth on US soil. It is thought the mother became infected with the virus while in Brazil in May 2015. Six people have so far tested positive for the virus in Hawaii, although all are understood to have been infected outside the US.

I think its important for us to understand that there are going to be imported cases of Zika to the United States and we won’t be surprised if we start to see some local transmission of the virus

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner

Doctors at the Oahu hospital tested the baby for the virus after it was found to be suffering from microcephaly, a rare condition in which newborns have smaller than normal heads, the Hawaii State Department of Health said. The condition prevents babies’ brains from developing properly. Concerns about the disaese led the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel warning advising women to postpone their visits to 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America where Zika infection is a risk.

That’s a pandemic in progress. It isn’t as if it’s turning around and dying out, it’s getting worse and worse as the days go by

Disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on the link between Zika and microcephaly

Health zika