On Thursday, the state of Nevada confirmed its first official case of Zika virus infection. According to local and state health officials, the infected patient was a resident of Clark County who recently visited Central America.
The male resident, who traveled to Guatemala, got sick sometime on Feb. 10 during his trip. According to medical epidemiologist Tony Fredrick from the Southern Nevada Health District, the man tested positive for the Zika virus.
During his return to the U.S. on Feb. 16, the male Clark County resident suffered from muscle and joint pain, fever, rash and red eyes. His healthcare provider referred him to the Southern Nevada Health District.
On Feb. 23, the health district collected a blood sample, which arrived at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a day later for testing. On Thursday, the health district received the patient's results which confirmed a positive test for the Zika virus.
The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health confirmed it as the state's first Zika case. The identity of the male patient is withheld by the health district as well as his city residence and age.
"The health district has been actively monitoring all developments related to the Zika virus and testing potential patients in accordance with CDC guidelines," said Chief Health Officer Dr. Joseph Iser.
The Southern Nevada Health District had submitted a total of 22 blood samples for Zika virus testing to the CDC as of Thursday. So far, they had received nine results, including the one who tested positive to the Zika virus.
On the other hand, the Washoe County Health District in Northern Nevada submitted blood samples from a dozen potential Zika cases to the CDC. So far, no results have been received.
"The driving concern behind Zika is the threat to the unborn child," said Nevada State Infectious Disease Forecast Station director James Wilson from the University of Nevada in Reno.
The CDC has been advising pregnant women as well as couples who are trying to conceive to delay travel plans with local Zika outbreak areas as the virus can be transmitted from the infected mother to her unborn children.
In early February, there had been confirmed Zika cases that were transmitted sexually by infected male partners. In Brazil, there were reports of Zika infection transmitted through blood transfusion that the CDC issues guidelines on how to prevent such incidents.
According to the Southern Nevada Health District, while death from the Zika infection is rare, determining it without a blood test is difficult that four out of five infected individuals won't know they have been compromised. Currently, there are no specific treatments or vaccines for the infection but World Health Organization (WHO) announced in February that the first vaccine could be 18 months away.
Photo: AD Teasdale | Flickr
