CDC Travel alert Zika Virus

[Irishman45]

The CDC issued a a travel alert for people traveling to areas where this once rare virus is now rapidly spreading, and it has advised pregnant women to consider avoiding these regions altogether, as the evidence grows that Zika can cause infected pregnant women to have babies born with the severe birth defects. The countries of concern include: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

 

The most common symptoms of Zika, a flavivirus related to Dengue, Yellow Fever, and West Nile, according to Richard Kuhn, Head of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, include flu-like symptoms (fever, body aches, headache), as well as rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.