First Zika Virus Case Confirmed in Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported the first locally acquired case of Zika virus infection there on Dec. 31, a case where the virus was confirmed in a resident of Puerto Rico with no known travel history. Health officials in Puerto Rico are monitoring for other cases.
The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported the first locally acquired case of Zika virus infection there on Dec. 31, a case where the virus was confirmed in a resident of Puerto Rico with no known travel history, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is working closely with the Puerto Rican agency to investigate how the patient contracted the virus. Health officials in Puerto Rico are monitoring for other cases.
CDC also has issued a travel notice advising people traveling to Puerto Rico to take usual precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites to reduce their risk of infection with Zika virus and other mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue and chikungunya: wearing insect repellent, using air conditioning or window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside, wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts when possible, and emptying standing water inside and outside the home.
There is no vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection or any medicine to treat it; outbreaks of Zika have occurred in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, and Brazil is investigating the possible connection between Zika virus infection and cases of microcephaly in newborns.
The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis. For more information about the Zika case in Puerto Rico, visit this website of the Pan American Health Organization: http://www.salud.gov.pr/Pages/Home.aspx. For more information about Zika, visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika/.
The virus is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. These are the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.