NY to Fight Zika Virus with Larvicide, Repellent, Condoms

Townsville Public Health Unit director Steve Donohue said disease-control teams were sent to Bowen on Sunday and found several pockets of the mosquito. The virus is a particular concern for pregnant women because it can result in a serious birth defect known as microcephaly, an underdeveloped head and other brain and eye abnormalities. On Friday, the woman was confirmed as carrying the zika virus, the Mackay Hospital and Health Service (MHHS) reported.

The CDC also cautioned other travelers to Cuba, which lies less than 100 miles south of Florida, to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, including protecting themselves from mosquito bites and using condoms or abstaining from sex.

The first case was announced February 9 - a woman who had traveled to an area where the virus is found. She was bitten by a mosquito and had mild symptoms, but she was not pregnant and there were no further consequences, officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends special precautions for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant.

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It has been linked to brain defects in newborns, and also to the paralytic disease Guillain-Barre syndrome. Valneva SE French biotech Biotech said in February it was evaluating the development of a Zika vaccine.

Zika has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can occasionally lead to a fatal form of paralysis. Of people infected with the Zika virus, 80 percent do not have any symptoms.

The seminar was an opportunity to raise awareness about the Zika virus phenomenon and its implication on global health, while focusing on Qatar's response strategies regarding the health issue. Some of the identified cities have never seen the disease-carrying mosquito before, but it has already been observed along the U.S.-Mexico border and up the East Coast to NY. "For the people who live here in New Mexico, the risk for Zika exposure and infection are for those who travel to these areas".

There is now no vaccine for the Zika virus.

The WHO's Vector Control Advisory Group has now concluded this week the system could be a useful tool to battle the Zika outbreak. The World Health Organization estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year.