COLUMBUS – The state has confirmed Ohio’s first case of the Zika virus in a 30-year-old Cleveland woman who recently returned from Haiti.
The Ohio Department of Health reported the case Tuesday morning.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 35 cases of Zika virus in 12 states and the District of Columbia prior to Ohio’s case, department officials said.
Zika is suspected of causing babies to be born with abnormally small heads, and the virus is spreading rapidly through Latin America (see map).
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The virus is primarily transmitted through a mosquito bite, and there is no indication that it can spread from person to person through casual contact, though the CDC confirmed a U.S. case of the virus being transmitted through sexual contact with someone who had returned from an affected country and developed symptoms.
State officials are preparing to plan how to prepare for Ohio’s mosquito season that runs from May to October.
“Prevention of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission is the same as prevention of any other mosquito-borne diseases,” said Dr. Mary DiOrio, the department’s medical director.
That includes personal protection, such as wearing insect repellent, and more widespread prevention efforts like fogging or using larvicide to kill eggs in breeding areas.
The primary mosquito that transmits Zika virus is Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito (pictured), found in the tropics and southern U.S. but not established in Ohio, DiOrio said. She says another type of mosquito found in Ohio may potentially transmit the virus but has not yet been linked to a case of transmission to a human.
Eighty percent of people infected with the Zika virus do not have any symptoms and, when they do occur, they are often mild, lasting from several days to a week, and include fever, rash, joint and muscle pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), and headache, DiOrio said.
Because of the possible link between Zika virus infections in pregnant women and serious birth defects, the CDC recommends that pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant consider postponing travel to areas with Zika virus transmission.
“There is no vaccine available for Zika virus so it’s important for Ohioans traveling to affected areas to take steps to prevent mosquito bites,” of the Ohio Department of Health.
To prevent potential transmission through sexual contact, CDC recommends men with a pregnant sex partner abstain from sexual activity or consistently and correctly use condoms during sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
CDC also recommends that pregnant women without symptoms of Zika virus disease be offered testing 2 to 12 weeks after returning from areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission.