Zika Virus Prompts Travel Advisories for Pregnant Women

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel warning urging pregnant women to avoid traveling to countries in Latin America and the Caribbeans as a result of a recent epidemic called the Zika virus.

The virus is carried by the same strand of mosquitos that transmit dengue and chicungunya, with mild short term symptoms affecting 1 in 5 that include fever, rashes, pink eye and joint pain. While the Zika virus is relatively harmless for most, with symptoms typically lasting for about 6 - 9 days, the long term effects that the virus could have on pregnant women are of greater concern. 



Most troubling is the possible connection between the Zika virus and a birth defect called microcephaly. Microcephaly is a neurological disorder leading to underdevelopment of an infant’s head and/or brain during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Until recently, the Zika virus was not linked to microcephaly, but after a recent increase in congenital defect, mainly in Brazil, is it possible that the two may be connected. 

Currently, Brazil is experiencing the largest known outbreak of Zika, with more than 1 million cases of the virus reported and an unprecedented number of microcephaly cases. Wednesday, the government of Brazil released new figures identifying 3,893 suspected cases of microcephaly since October, following a mandatory reporting program. It is important to note that this is the number of self reported cases,  the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil is 224, with six cases suspected to be Zika related. 

While the investigation continues, in an effort to combat the virus countries including Brazil, Colombia and Jamaica are calling on women to delay getting pregnant. At this time, there is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika.

To date here are the counties and territories affected according to the Pan American Health Organization: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Suriname and Venezuela, as well as Puerto Rico. UPDATE: The CDC extended the travel warning to another eight countries or territories that pose a risk of infection. Another warning (Friday, Jan 22)  added Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Cape Verde, Samoa and the island of Saint Martin to the list.


Zika in Panama & Colombia:


Cases in Panama have occurred lin the Guna Yala Comarca. Jan 21 La Prensa reported that Ministry of Health official Itza Barahona confirmed 38 cases, including one pregnant woman, a child under five, and several people over the age of 75. Earlier this month, La Prensa reported Colombia has had at least 11,000 cases of the Zika virus, that number has since risen to more than 13,500 people. According to the minister of health 560 pregnant women are among the infected in Colombia, however so far there are no cases of newborns suffering from microcephaly.



The CDC has warned those traveling in affected countries to cover up and wear DEET products to prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes.