The Zika virus outbreak has created a great panic among people in Latin American countries. Unfortunately, this panic might spread soon in Asia as an American woman tested positive for the disease.
ABC News reports that an American woman has been tested positive for Zika virus in the U.S. after visiting the Philippines in January. Health officials are currently working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get more details on the woman and where she stayed during her trip to the Philippines from Jan. 2-28.
The American woman was already showing symptoms of Zika virus infection during the last few days of her stay in the Philippines but was only diagnosed with the Zika virus after returning to the U.S. However, health officials say that this is only the second Zika virus case in the Philippines' history and no outbreak has been announced.
The first case of Zika virus infection in the Philippines occurred in 2012. It involved a 15-year-old boy in the province of Cebu City, who fully recovered after three weeks of proper rest and treatment.
Zika virus symptoms include "fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes)," as per the CDC. But the reason behind the great panic over the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak is its alleged effects on pregnant women and their babies.
Since the start of the Zika virus outbreak, there has been a great rise in the number of microcephaly cases in babies. Microcephaly is a birth defect that involves brain development abnormalities as well as a smaller than normal head size, according to CDC. Although no conclusive proof has been given, many experts believe that the link between the Zika virus and microcephaly is very much real.
