This can happen when a person who has been traveling overseas gets bitten by a mosquito when they return to America.
Two species of Aedes mosquito can transmit the virus, but neither is found in high concentrations in California.
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There are no vaccines for either the West Nile or Zika viruses. As of today no locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the Continental United States.
"It is important to make people aware of our concerns, but there is no need for panic at this point", said Laura Kornegay, a medical doctor and the district director for the Central Shenandoah Health District. However, we ARE experts in mosquitoes and effective mosquito control and can help by educating the public on how to avoid contact with mosquitoes, both while traveling and at home, and how to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and reducing biting mosquito populations by working with a pest control professional here in the U.S. As you may begin to receive questions about this from your employees, your customers and the local media, please use this Industry Alert to ensure we are sharing accurate information and speaking together with a unified voice.
While that may be alarming, it does not mean the culprit, mosquitoes carrying the virus, is here.
The virus has ravaged regions of South America in recent months, and while symptoms are considered relatively mild (fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes), the disease could pose serious risks for children born of pregnant, infected mothers.
The striped, aggressive Aedes mosquitoes are known for attacking during the day.
Taylor explains, "They also carry other viruses..."
A clearer picture could emerge at the onset of spring, when mosquito activity picks up and vector control districts can trap mosquitoes for testing. About one in five individuals who are infected do not become sick.
There may be more people traveling between the USA and Brazil due to the upcoming Carnival holiday and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a travel advisory for Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, where Zika transmission now occurs, according to the report.
All are believed to have caught the infection while traveling to the tropics.
"For those traveling to places where Zika is being transmitted, notably Brazil, that would be a concern for the travelers as well as bringing it back", said Chris Barker, who is with the UC Davis Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.
"Nobody needs to freak out", Parada said.
"In the U.S.so far, there is no evidence for local transmission anywhere, that includes California". "As a health system, I think the CDC and other entities are correct to have their antennas up for any cases...."
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