Zika

By now most of us have heard of the Zika virus. Briefly, Zika is a virus spread by common mosquitoes. In healthy adults, symptoms include mild fever, a rash, joint pain and eye irritation.

Symptoms usually last 1-2 weeks and there are no long term effects. It has recently been suggested that the Zika virus may cause severe damage to the brain of an unborn child when pregnant women become infected. To date, there have been NO cases of mosquitoes infected with Zika causing illness in the United States. The CDC recommends women who are pregnant not travel to any area where the Zika virus is active. The map shows areas currently affected.

There  has been one case reported of Zika being transmitted sexually. If you are pregnant and concerned your partner may have Zika, you should abstain from sex until all symptoms are gone. There have been no cases of Zika in the state of Louisiana.  If you travel to an area involved in the Zika epidemic, follow this link to a poster with tips for protecting yourself CDC Poster

While the spread of the virus is expected, the rate and distribution cannot yet be predicted.  As information becomes available, we will continue to update our website and Facebook page.

For more information, go to http://www.cdc.gov/zika