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Zika Virus Hasn't Reached CA, But It Could

Sanofi Pasteur
/
Flickr: http://bit.ly/1WCKTfR

A virus thought responsible for a wave of severe birth defects in Brazil could conceivably reach California.

It hasn’t yet. Nichole Quick is the Public Health Officer for Yuba County.

“There has been no local transmission of the virus in California,” Quick said. “The only times we’ve seen it are from travelers returning.”

That, however, could change.

Though first recorded in humans more than 60 years ago, the Zika virus has grabbed headlines lately. An otherwise mild sickness, Zika infections among pregnant women are thought responsible for birth defects – infants born with abnormally small heads and neurological disorders.

The mosquito-borne virus is transmitted by two particular species that are also known to spread Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever. The mosquito species, both with visibly distinctive white stripes, have spread to larger parts of the U.S. in recent years. The California Department of Public Health said they have been found as far north as Hayward in Alameda County.

The virus is active from Brazil north to Mexico.

Other than postponing travel and avoiding bites with repellant and mosquito nets, there’s little other defense.

“The key point to know about the Zika virus at this point is that we do not have a vaccine,” Quick said.    

No infected mosquitoes have turned up in California or anywhere in the U.S.

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