Zika virus case confirmed in Northern California
A Yolo County person has tested positive for Zika virus after recently returning from international travel, according to a county news release issued Wednesday.
The announcement didn’t mention the identity or sex of the infected person or where he or she had traveled.
The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. It’s spread to 20 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including Mexico. Researchers suspect it causes a severe neurological condition called microcephaly in babies of infected mothers.
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The California Department of Public Health had reported six travel-associated cases of Zika in California since 2013, including two in 2015, as of Feb. 5. There have been 35 travel-associated cases in the U.S. since 2015.
Zika can be transmitted by the aedes mosquito, which is common in tropical climates but exists in low concentrations in Northern California. There have been some reports of Zika transmission through blood or sexual contact.
“Yolo County residents traveling to Central or South America or the Caribbean, where Zika is present, should take precautions against mosquitoes,” Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman said in the news release. “If you are pregnant, consider postponing your trip.”
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