Pregnant Zika Case In Houston ex-El Salvador

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Legacy Community Health, one of the nation’s largest community health centers, today announced its first patient, a pregnant woman, testing positive for Zika virus.  The woman had lived in El Salvador, where the virus is widespread, prior to coming to the U.S. earlier this year, but it’s not clear whether she contracted the virus directly through a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual transmission with a male partner. Either way, the Centers for Disease Control has said definitively the virus can cause severe birth defects.

http://www.legacycommunityhealth.org/newsroom/first-legacy-patient-tests-positive-for-zika-as-houston-flooding-sure-to-boost-mosquito-population/

 

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First Legacy Patient Tests Positive for Zika as Houston Flooding Sure to Boost Mosquito Population

CATEGORY: Adult Primary Care, Family Medicine, Public Affairs,Public Health, Vaccination & Immunization

Health center re-issues advisory to its patients. And to Congress.

HOUSTON – Legacy Community Health, one of the nation’s largest community health centers, today announced its first patient, a pregnant woman, testing positive for Zika virus.  The woman had lived in El Salvador, where the virus is widespread, prior to coming to the U.S. earlier this year, but it’s not clear whether she contracted the virus directly through a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual transmission with a male partner. Either way, the Centers for Disease Control has said definitively the virus can cause severe birth defects.

“We are closely monitoring the patient through her pregnancy and hope for the best for mom and baby,” said Dr. Natalie Vanek, a Legacy Community Health infectious disease specialist. “Today we are re-issuing our advisory to pregnant women not to travel down to the Central and South American countries where the virus is rampant, and want to make the broader Houston community aware the virus can be transmitted sexually. We are focused on prevention, not panic.”

Last week, the CDC said sexual transmission “might contribute to more illness than was anticipated when the outbreak was first recognized.” The guidance comes after a couple in Dallas County–now known to be two men – became infected with Zika in January. It was the first report of transmission by men having sex with men, while previous sexual transmission focused on heterosexual couples.

Still, the focus remains on pregnant women. About 700 cases of Zika virus have been reported in the United States, including almost 70 pregnant women, according to the CDC. Legacy Community Health sees about 300 pregnant women a day, some of whom travel regularly to Latin America.

The political debate over Zika involves federal funding for prevention measures and fast-tracking a vaccine. Congress has met the Obama Administration’s emergency funding request for $1.9 billion for Zika with inaction.

“Washington needs to quickly find common ground on this growing public health situation,” said Legacy CEO Katy Caldwell. “The virus will likely get worse along the Gulf Coast in weeks, not months, given this week’s major flooding that will increase the area’s mosquito population. We are hopeful the health and well-being of the American people is the top priority of lawmakers, even in an election year.”

Zika symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes.  The best prevention methods are avoiding mosquito bites by using insect repellant, wearing additional clothing, staying in air-conditioned spaces, and using condoms during sexual activity.

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Map Update

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LOCAL CLINIC CONFIRMS FIRST PREGNANT ZIKA PATIENT

 

An Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

 

 

 

Updated 1 hr 31 mins ago

HOUSTON (KTRK) --

A local clinic has confirmed their first pregnant Zika virus patient.

Legacy Community Health Services released a statement on their website that read, in part, "The woman had lived in El Salvador, where the virus is widespread, prior to coming to the U.S. earlier this year, but it's not clear whether she contracted the virus directly through a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual transmission with a male partner. Either way, the Centers for Disease Control has said definitively the virus can cause severe birth defects.

"We are closely monitoring the patient through her pregnancy and hope for the best for mom and baby," said Dr. Natalie Vanek, a Legacy Community Health infectious disease specialist.

"Today we are re-issuing our advisory to pregnant women not to travel down to the Central and South American countries where the virus is rampant, and want to make the broader Houston community aware the virus can be transmitted sexually. We are focused on prevention, not panic."

Common symptoms of the Zika virus include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, according to the CDC. Approximately one in five people infected with the virus show symptoms. Severe complications from the virus that require hospitalization are rare, according to the CDC.
 

The virus has been associated with a rise of microcephaly, a type of birth defect. It has affected more than 4,000 babies in Brazil.
 

 

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Health officials discourage pregnant women from traveling to Central or South America. If you must, they suggest wearing clothing and bug spray with DEET which will protect you. They are also urging you to eliminate any standing water around your home or workplace in order to limit the number of places in which mosquitos can breed.
 

 

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Zika symptoms diagnosis and treatment from the CDC

Symptoms
 

• About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).


• The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.


• The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.


• Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days but it can be found longer in some people.


• Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.


• Deaths are rare.

Diagnosis
 

• The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, diseases spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit Zika.


• See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where Zika is found.


• If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled.


• Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya.

Treatment

• No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections.

Treat the symptoms:
 

• Get plenty of rest


• Drink fluids to prevent dehydration


• Take medicines, such as acetaminophen or paracetamol, to relieve fever and pain


• Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen and naproxen. Aspirin and NSAIDs should be avoided until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of hemorrhage (bleeding). If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.


• If you have Zika, avoid mosquito bites for the first week of your illness.


• During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites.

Keep checking back on this page to get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To get alerts for breaking news, download the ABC-13 news app for iPhone or Android. You can also get breaking news alerts sent to you by email.

http://abc13.com/health/local-clinic-confirms-first-pregnant-zika-patient/1302234/

 

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Houston-area woman first expectant mother here testing positive for Zika virus

By Markian Hawryluk

April 21, 2016

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A pregnant Fort Bend County woman who traveled from El Salvador earlier this year has tested positive for the Zika virus, Legacy Community Health announced.

It is believed to be the first confirmed case of the virus in an expectant mother in the Houston area.

It's not clear whether she contracted the virus from a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual contact with a male partner, Legacy officials said Thursday. The woman's case came to light when she sought medical care at a Legacy health clinic in Fort Bend County.

"We are closely monitoring the patient through her pregnancy and hope for the best for mom and baby," Dr. Natalie Vanek, a Legacy infectious disease specialist, said in a statement.

The clinic is echoing messages from public health authorities urging pregnant women to avoid travel to Central or South American countries where the mosquito-borne virus is circulating. This pregnant patient is the third case of Zika in Fort Bend County. There have been 12 confirmed cases in Houston and Harris County and at least 31 statewide.

'Focused on prevention'

Public health officials stressed that the latest case changes nothing about the risk to Houston residents.

"We are focused on prevention, not panic," Vanek said.

Harris County public health officials are asking residents to get rid of standing water around their homes that can provide breeding sites for mosquitoes, particularly after the heavy rains and flooding this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last week a Zika infection can cause microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains and heads.

On Thursday, the agency released new data on the testing of people suspected of having a Zika infection.

From Jan. 3 to March  5, 4,534 people in the U.S. were tested, including 3,335 pregnant women. About a third of those tested reported at least one Zika symptom, and nearly 12 percent of individuals with symptoms tested positive. Of the 2,425 asymptomatic pregnant women, only seven tested positive.

Not 'if' but 'when'

So far, 358 individuals have been diagnosed with Zika in the United States, including 31 pregnant women. Seven of the cases were sexually transmitted, while the remainder were all infected outside the country.

Zika also can be passed on through sexual contact, and the CDC has recommended that men refrain from unprotected sex for at least eight weeks after traveling to an affected region or six months after developing symptoms. There is no evidence now that women can transmit the virus to their sexual partners.

Health officials are urging those infected with the virus to wear mosquito repellent and take other precautions to avoid being bitten to keep the virus from infecting the local mosquito population.

While experts expect some outbreaks of Zika in the U.S. in the coming months, so far, there have been no confirmed cases of someone infected with Zika through a mosquito bite within the country.

"Our planning isn't if, it's when," Dr. John Hellerstadt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said at a Zika Virus Summit in Dallas on Wednesday. "We know the devastating effect for women of childbearing age, and that risk will only increase."

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-area-woman-first-expectant-mother-here-7294840.php

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Map Update

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