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ADH Confirms Seventh Case Of Zika Virus In Arkansas, Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes Found In Oklahoma

LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) — A seventh Arkansan was diagnosed with Zika virus this week, the Arkansas Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday (July 27). So fa...
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LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) — A seventh Arkansan was diagnosed with Zika virus this week, the Arkansas Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday (July 27).

So far all seven Zika cases have been travel-related, including the latest patient who got the disease while traveling to the Pacific Islands, said Meg Mirivel, ADH communications director. No cases have been transmitted locally.

The CDC recently announced they would be donating $1.3 million to help Arkansas prepare for the Zika virus, Mirivel said.

While the symptoms of Zika are usually not severe, the disease has been linked to microcephaly in babies born to pregnant women who contract the virus.

Mosquitoes that carry the virus have been found in southwest Oklahoma, KFOR reported. The Oklahoma State Department of Health started a collaborative mosquito surveillance program, which found a small number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in various locations in Altus, Oklahoma.

Aedes aegypti are considered the primary mosquito carrier of the Zika virus in South and Central America and the Caribbean where a Zika epidemic is ongoing.

 

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