ZIKA TRAVEL WARNING FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

Posted on 08/22/2016

The Public Health Agency of Canada has issued a travel health notice in response to an escalation of Zika virus activity in south Florida. Ottawa is recommending women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant to avoid south Florida after health officials there announced five new cases of Zika were connected to mosquitoes in Miami Beach.

The new cases bring Florida's Zika caseload to 36 infections not related to travel outside the US.
Health officials say symptoms of Zika virus can include fever, headache, conjunctivitis and skin rash, along with joint and muscle pain - but the illness is generally mild and only lasts a few days.
However, experts agree that Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly in a developing fetus during pregnancy and a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.