The spread of the Zika virus in Latin America has caused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that Americans exercise caution when planning to travel.
The mosquito borne illness causes fever, rash, conjunctivitis, and transient arthritis along with the possibility for paralysis. Symptoms usually subside after five to seven days, and there have been no known deaths from the Zika virus.
Additionally, Zika has been identified to cause microcephaly, a birth defect in the children of infected women. In response, some affected countries including, El Salvador, have asked their citizens to refrain from becoming pregnant in order to minimize the effects of the virus. Currently there is no treatment nor vaccination for the Zika virus.
On January 15, the CDC has issued a travel that pregnant women avoid travel to 22 countries where there is active transmission of the Zika virus. These countries include heavily traveled places such as Brazil, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, St. Martin, and Puerto Rico.
Furthermore, the CDC recommends that individuals traveling to affected countries cover exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, sleep with bed nets, and use insect repellent.
According to NPR, only about a half-dozen cases of the Zika have been reported in the United States over the past two weeks, and all reported cases are travelers returning from parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. CDC officials predict any outbreaks in the U.S. will be relatively small because American access to screens and other necessary prevention measures.
