The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines on Tuesday instructing healthcare providers how to care for pregnant women in the event of a Zika virus outbreak, The New York Times reported.
The guidelines recommend that pregnant women consider postponing travel to places where Zika virus transmission has been reported, emphasizing what the CDC previously said in a travel alert issued Friday.
The guidelines also advise healthcare providers to ask all pregnant women about their recent travel history. Pregnant women who visited places linked with the virus, particularly those who show symptoms of the infection, should be screened and tested, the CDC said.
"Pregnant women with a history of travel to an area with Zika virus transmission and who report two or more symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease ... during or within 2 weeks of travel, or who have ultrasound findings of fetal microcephaly or intracranial calcifications, should be tested for Zika virus infection in consultation with their state or local health department," the CDC guidelines state.
Zika virus is spread through the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the same vector for chikungunya and dengue. About 80 percent of people infected with the virus do not show symptoms, but for those who do, the symptoms include acute fever onset, maculopapular rash, conjunctivitis and joint pains or arthralgia. These can last for up to a week.
Zika virus infection in pregnant women has been associated with children born with microcephaly. The CDC warns that pregnant women face the risk of infection in any trimester.
"There is no commercially available test for Zika virus. Testing for Zika virus infection is performed at CDC and several state health departments," the guidelines said. "Health care providers should contact their state or local health department to facilitate testing and for assistance with interpreting results."
In the U.S., the first reported case of a baby born with microcephaly because of Zika virus infection is from Hawaii.
On Tuesday, two pregnant women from Illinois were confirmed to have been infected while on recent vacation abroad, Chicago Sun-Times reported.
