Fourth Case of Zika Confirmed in Connecticut

A fourth case of Zika virus has been confirmed in Connecticut, days after a pregnant woman tested positive, the Department of Public Health said. 

The most recent case is a woman in her 30s who came back from a Zika-affected area in the Caribbean on April 25 and became ill on April 29 with a fever, rash and conjunctivitis. 

A couple of days ago, the Department of Public Health said that a pregnant woman from Connecticut had tested positive for the virus, which could be harmful to fetuses. 

The child was conceived during the woman's trip, according to the DPH.

While traveling, the woman became ill with a fever and rash, the department said. The woman is about 11 weeks pregnant, according to Department of Public Health Commissioner Raul Pino said.

While the primary mosquitos that carry Zika are not believed to be in Connecticut, some state health officials said they could come here and there are steps to prepares the state.  

Researchers at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station are testing a sample of Zika from Mexico to determine whether local species of mosquito can transmit the virus.

"It is a crisis that we need to manage before it gets out of control," Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said.

Dr. Albert Ko, of the Yale School of Public Health, said there are no effective diagnostic tests and there is no treatment or vaccine that they can offer our patients.

Gov. Dannel Malloy is meeting with the Hispanic Health Council today discuss what Zika could mean if it came to our state.

According to the Department of Public Health, 426 cases of travel-related Zika have been reported in the continental United States.

Of those, 36 were pregnant women and eight were sexually transmitted. In Connecticut, 245 patients, including 217 pregnant women, have been tested for Zika virus.

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