Chester County Case Comes Amid Growing Zika Concerns
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Concerns about the Zika Virus have prompted pro golfer Rory McIlRoy to pull out of the Olympic games in Rio. Anxiety over the mosquito-borne virus, which leads to severe birth defects, has cast a cloud over the summer games with six weeks to go.
The Chester County Health Department confirmed its first case of Zika on Tuesday. The unidentified woman, who recently traveled to an area impacted by Zika, is not pregnant and had mild symptoms.
There are now 755 cases of Zika in the United States. All of them are travel related or sexual transmitted. They all linked to areas overseas where the mosquito-borne virus is quickly spreading.
There are still no cases of mosquitoes spreading Zika in the states. The newest case in Pennsylvania is in Chester County. The woman was not hospitalized and has recovered.
There are now 23 cases of Zika in Pennsylvania, 17 in New Jersey and four in Delaware.
Researchers in the NIH are now working on a study of up to 10,000 pregnant women in Puerto Rico, Brazil and other countries where Zika is spreading rapidly.
The study will track several birth defects associated with Zika. In Dallas, officials are tracking ten pregnant women who traveled and may have Zika infections. Health officials are concerned a local outbreak could happen here if a mosquito bites a person infected with Zika and picks up the virus.
That's why people with confirmed cases are receiving kits with insect repellent and condoms. They are also being asked to stay indoors for at least five days.
Zika is currently spreading in more than 40 countries, mainly in the Caribbean and South America. The CDC is recommending that pregnant women not travel to areas infected with Zika and men can pass the infection to women.
