LA County confirms first case of Zika virus
RT.com
27 Jan, 2016
A Los Angeles County girl who had traveled to El Salvador late last year was infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, health officials confirmed.
LA County health officials said Tuesday that the adolescent girl contracted the disease when she traveled to El Salvador in late November, but she has since recovered. There have been at least 22 cases of the illness affecting travelers returning to the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The infection is causing alarm because it has been linked to serious birth defects in Brazil, causing officials nationwide to warn visitors to take precautions against mosquitoes when traveling abroad to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Pregnant women traveling to these countries are advised to postpone their trips.
The mosquito-borne illness was unheard of outside of Africa, Southeast Asia and Pacific islands before last year. In 2015, however, an outbreak was reported in the Brazil, and the disease has been reported in 20 other countries in North and South America.
On January 22, the CDC included the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to that list. Brazil, which is scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2016, is also on the list.
Many airlines have begun to offer refunds to passengers with flights booked to affected regions. British Airways, for example, is allowing customers going to certain Zika-affected areas to choose an alternate destination, delay their journey or change their booking for free, according to CNN Money.
The mosquito-borne disease isn’t contagious, only passing from person to person if a mosquito bites the blood of an infected person and then bites another.
Symptoms include red eyes, fever, joint pain and rash, but infected people often don’t experience any symptoms at all. However, there has been a surge in serious birth defects that are believed to have been caused by pregnant mothers carrying the virus.
The Rest…HERE
