ZIKA VIRUS

ZIKA VIRUS

There has been a lot in the news about the Zika Virus and I just wanted to pass on the facts about it. These facts are from the CDC (Center for Disease Control)and the WHO (World Health Organization).

1. Zika is not a new disease, it has been around for years.

2. There are two levels of people. Threatened people and non-threatened people.

3. Threatened people are people who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the near future.

4. Non-threatened people are the rest of the population.

5. The disease is transmitted by a certain type of mosquito.

6. The symptoms and length of the disease are very mild flu like symptoms and lasts less than a week. Less than 50% of the people who contract the disease will display any symptoms.

7. Pregnant people or those who plan on becoming pregnant in the near future are at risk because it has been thought that the disease may be a cause of birth defects. Both the CDC and the WHO claim that, as of yet there is no medical proof of this.

8. When looking at maps of areas where there are cases of Zika Virus, make sure you look for maps that show contracted cases not just reported cases. An example Hawaii will show up on the map for reported cases because they have 1 person with a reported case of Zika Virus but will not show up on the map of contracted cases because the one case they have was actually contracted in Brazil and the person traveled to Hawaii. Hawaii has no contracted cases of Zika Virus.

9. What I recommend is make your own decision concerning your travel plans but make sure you make those decisions based on the facts not on the news hype.

If anyone has any questions please call us for further information.