Zika Virus Spreads to the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control says the Zika virus, which has now spread to the United States is calling the virus a "pandemic in the making." It was learned that the first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been confirmed in the United States. The CDC has also issued a travel warning that includes 14 countries where the disease has a real stronghold.

It turns out that the Zika virus has been around for quite sometime, but is just now entering the U.S. for the first time. In Brazil, there were over 3,000 cases reported there last year and doctors say they feel that the virus may be the cause of an increase of babies born with defects in that country. Young and even unborn babies stand the greatest risk from this virus.

Part of the concern for the Gulf States is that Zika is carried by mosquitoes and that is certainly something we have plenty of in Louisiana. The folks at the CDC say that the Zika virus could easily spread to our part of the country from Latin America since our climate is also warm and wet. Because of the similarities in climate, the virus could spread to Florida, Texas and Louisiana,

Mosquitoes carrying Zika have turned up across the Americas and the Caribbean.  The CDC's travel warning reaches from Paraguay in the south to Mexico in the north, through Central America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico.

Aside from the concerns with pregnant women contracting the virus, Zika is usually mild, with only one in five people even noticing symptoms. Those symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headaches and chills.

Experts suggest using mosquito repellent especially if you are, or planning to be pregnant. As of right now, there is no vaccine, but they are working on one and add that it should be a fairly easy vaccine to create.

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