MOSQUITO –SPREAD ZIKA VIRUS

From time to time GLOBAL PEST SERVICES will inform you of disease outbreaks that can affect our population – especially in Las Vegas where we have a huge number of tourists each year. Zika Virus has not spread to the United States although the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) has issued a warning to pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant to postpone travel to several Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories experiencing Zika outbreaks.

The countries and territories mentioned are: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

This warning is the first time the agency has ever recommended pregnant women avoid specific areas due to outbreaks. But health experts at the agency felt the precaution sensible after new evidence surfaced directly linking the virus to four cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains. The condition can be fatal.

The Hawaii State Department of Health confirmed the first US case of a baby born with microcephaly and evidence of a Zika infection. The newborn’s mother likely became infected with the virus while she was living in Brazil earlier in 2015 and the baby acquired the infection while in the womb. While there have been several cases of Zika in the US, all of the people stricken were infected outside of the country and returned with the virus. So far, there is no evidence to suggest that the virus is circulating in US mosquito populations or that it can transmit from person-to-person.

In 2014, there were 147 cases of microcephaly in Brazil. But from October 2015 to January 2016, there were over 3,500 suspected cases according to Brazilian health authorities.

GLOBAL PEST SERVICES in Las Vegas is a licensed pest control company that is qualified to handle all your pest elimination needs. Call our office at 702-657-0091 or go to our web site- to speak with us for all your pest control needs. Get a quote now!

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