Gillian Mohney/ABC News
AS the Zika virus outbreak spreads across Central and South America, here are the latest details on the virus, which has been linked to birth defects in newborns.
A doctor draw blood from Luana, who was born with microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. The concern is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
There are currently 31 people in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, including three pregnant women — two in Illinois and one in New York.
Those infected are spread across 11 states and Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All of those infected contracted the virus outside of the U.S. before returning, according to health officials.
Another woman in Hawaii is believed to have had the Zika virus after her infant was born with the associated birth defect called microcephaly — characterized by an abnormally small head and brain, which can lead to developmental delays. The birth defect has been associated with the virus in Brazil, where more than 4,000 children have been diagnosed with the condition.
This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP)
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 also been associated with a rise of microcephaly birth defect cases.
The CDC is also investigating if a rare paralysis syndrome called Guillain-Barre is related to the virus. The syndrome is an immunological reaction that can also occur after other viral or bacterial infections.
To read more, click here: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/zika-virus-outbreak/story?id=36547019
