Zika virus diagnosed in Reynosa

[niman]

Zika virus diagnosed in Reynosa

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Posted: Friday, January 29, 2016 9:25 pm

By KRISTIAN HERNANDEZ STAFF WRITER

The first case of the Zika virus has been confirmed in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, just a few miles south of the Texas-Mexico border. 

The Reynosa man traveled to Colombia to visit family over the holidays and contracted the virus, according to officials with the Mexican Health Department. This is one of 15 cases confirmed across Mexico and one of three that were imported to the neighboring country.

Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Director Eddie Olivarez said he has been aware of reports concerning the Zika virus south of the border since August of last year and is monitoring the situation along with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“Zika has not been determined to be here at all. In fact, it has not been determined to be native to the northern states of Mexico either,” Olivarez said. “We know of cases in the Houston areas that are travelers and some in Chiapas and deep in South Mexico and Central America from homegrown mosquitoes.”

Earlier this month, the Pan American Health Organization reported 18 countries with confirmed home-grown circulation of Zika virus since 2015: Brazil, Barbados, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, French Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Suriname and Venezuela.

The United States has not been added because the few cases reported in places such as Los Angeles, Minnesota and Texas involve travelers who contracted the virus outside of the country, Olivarez said.

The first case of the virus in Texas was reported on Jan. 13, in Harris County. Reports state that a middle-aged woman who had traveled to El Salvador was diagnosed with Zika virus after she developed a rash, fever and joint pain.

There have been three reported deaths of the Zika virus in Brazil, which has been at the center of the surge since health ministry officials in that country reported an association between microcephaly and Zika virus infection in pregnant women, according to the Mexican health department.

Microcephaly is a neurological disorder in which the circumference of a baby’s head is less than average. Brazil’s health ministry reported a surge of reported microcephaly cases, reaching nearly 4,000 between 2015 and 2016 compared to 150 in 2014, according to the Mexican health department.

International health officials are warning the Zika virus is “spreading explosively” in the Americas and the number of cases could reach up to 4 million over the next year, according to a Thursday report from the Associated Press from Geneva.

President Barack Obama met with U.S. health and national security leaders Tuesday to discuss the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses in the Americas as well as steps being taken to protect the American public, according to a news release.

“The President emphasized the need to accelerate research efforts to make available better diagnostic tests, to develop vaccines and therapeutics, and to ensure that all Americans have information about the Zika virus and steps they can take to better protect themselves from infection,” the release states.

Zika is not a new virus; it was first isolated in a monkey in the Zika forest in Entebbe, Uganda, Africa in 1968. Since then, outbreaks have been reported mostly in tropical Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis or red eyes. The illness is usually mild, with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon, according to the CDC.

“About 80 percent of people who have Zika will never show symptoms,” Olivarez said.

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the Zika virus. The virus is transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same transmitter of Dengue and Chikungunya.

There is still no indication that the virus can be passed from human to human outside a mother’s womb, despite one case of it possibly being transmitted through sexual intercourse.

During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be passed from an infected person to an uninfected mosquito through mosquito bites, according to the CDC.

“That is how Dengue spreads,” Olivarez said. “Dengue can pass from human to human via mosquito and they are studying that with Zika.”

Dengue fever and the Aedes mosquito are common in the Rio Grande Valley area, Olivarez said. In Tamaulipas, health officials launched a statewide initiative to combat the mosquitoes that spread these viruses, according to a Monday news release.

“When you go out there and fumigate and larvacide against Dengue, against West Nile against Chikungunya, you are doing it for Zika too,” Olivarez said. “There is no magic way to deal with Zika. It’s the same way we’ve already been dealing with this.”

Olivarez said his office will continue monitoring while applying the usual methods of fumigation throughout the county and encourage people to keep their lawns clean and to get rid of standing water in their yards as part of their campaign to combat mosquito populations.

Mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism — over one million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne diseases every year, according to the American Mosquito Control Association, founded in 1935.

For more information about Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, visit the AMCA site atwww.mosquito.org.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/premium/article_379e98e6-c701-11e5-8dfa-232d572fe71c.html

[niman]

Confirmed Zika Virus Puts Health Officials on Alert

Posted: Jan 29, 2016 7:45 PM ESTUpdated: Jan 29, 2016 7:45 PM EST

 

 

 

 

MCALLEN – The first case of the Zika virus was confirmed in Reynosa, Mexico. Officials said they’re taking action after a man was diagnosed.

Health officials in the Rio Grande Valley said they continue watching as the virus keeps spreading.

Amelia Garcia is a newborn, just 5-months-old. Her mother said she’s the third and last child. Each one is a big responsibility. “Especially when you’re pregnant, you talk to your doctors and take all the precautionary measures that you need to,” Jovana Garcia said.

It’s now important for pregnant mothers to be aware of the Zika virus. It’s carried by mosquitoes and linked to cases of brain damage in unborn children.

The virus is spreading through Central and South America. On Friday, officials confirmed a man was diagnosed across the border in Reynosa.

The man had traveled to Colombia. The McAllen Health Department said they keep track of travelers.

“Immigrants or migrants coming through here, or even visitors that are coming ill as well, are reported to the local hospitals, and then reported to the county and then to us,” McAllen Health Department Director Josh Ramirez said.

Health officials on both sides of the border don’t think mosquitoes in the Valley carry the virus. McAllen and other municipalities put out traps. They’re looking for any high numbers of Aedis Agypti; the species is known to carry the virus.

“If we have one or two or 20, it may not be a concern. If we have a trap with hundreds of mosquitoes it may raise a flag,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said the cold season is keeping numbers low.  The staff continues to collect and test the mosquitoes, the results keep coming back negative.

The Reynosa Health Department said it took action with the infected man. They went into the man’s house to fumigate and kill any mosquitoes. Health officials said they still don’t know for certain where the man was bitten by the infected mosquito.

The number of Zika virus cases has jumped all across the United States. The CDC said there are now 32 cases across a dozen states and the District of Colombia.

The virus isn’t spreading locally in the U.S. It’s coming into this country through travelers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.krgv.com/story/31095190/confirmed-zika-virus-puts-health-officials-on-alert

Edited January 30, 2016 by niman