N.J. confirms first case of Zika in the state
Updated Jan 20, 2016 ; Posted Jan 20, 2016
By Kathleen O'Brien | For Inside Jersey
Researchers Put the Bite on Mosquitoes
The Aedes aegypti female mosquito sucking blood from a man's arm. Only the female mosquitos bite. (James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
A woman who was visiting Bergen County from Colombia has become New Jersey's first confirmed case of the Zika illness, according to the N.J. Department of Health.
The case is one of 20 diagnosed in the United States, according to CDC data given to the state's public health community. Travel-related cases have also been reported in Texas, Florida, and Illinois.
The woman contracted the virus in her home country and then became ill while a visitor in Bergen County in late November, according to a department spokeswoman.
She was hospitalized for a few days, making a full recovery, according to a state advisory sent to the medical community. She then returned to Colombia.
The woman's case of Zika was confirmed by lab tests done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which notified New Jersey of the case on Dec. 23.
The advisory states "there is no local public health risk associated with this travel-related case."
"Zika virus is not currently found in the United States. However, cases of Zika have been reported in returning travelers," said health department spokesman Donna Leusner.
Zika is not usually transmitted from person to person, like the flu, or a cold. Instead, it is carried by mosquitoes from person to person. While visitors to the United States have become sick after arriving here, they likely were exposed in their home countries, say experts.
No U.S. mosquitoes have been found to be carrying the virus.
State health officials sent an advisory to health care providers late last week urging them to ask the travel history of any pregnant patient.
How to avoid the 'Zika' mosquito virus - the one now linked to birth defects
The mosquito-borne virus may be the cause of a new crop of birth defects in Brazil, health officials fear.
The Zika virus, which normally causes a fairly mild illness, is now suspected of causing birth defects if the mother is exposed during her pregnancy. That unconfirmed link is based on the discovery of the virus in the amniotic fluid after two fetal deaths in Brazil, as health officials there scramble to find the cause of more than 3,000 cases of babies born with microcephaly, or small heads.
Because of that possible link, the CDC recently urged women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy to avoid travel to more than a dozen countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico.
There has been only one case of a suspected Zika-linked birth defect in the United States, that of a baby whose mother from Hawaii had traveled to Brazil during her pregnancy.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.