Marin County confirms its 1st case of Zika virus
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KTVU) - The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed its first case of Zika virus on Tuesday. According to the health department, the disease was contracted by someone who had recently traveled to Central America.
The department said the case does not pose a threat to the community and will not identify the patient due to privacy concerns.
The virus occurs primarily through infected Aedes mosquitoes, which have not been detected in Marin, according to the department.
HHS will continue to provide updates on Zika on www.marinhhs.org, through news releases and with social media posts.
Health officials remind you are at risk of getting Zika if you were bitten by mosquitoes in an area experiencing an outbreak. Outbreak areas include; Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Central America and South America, according to the HHS news release.
They remind unborn babies are also at risk if a woman is infected with Zika while pregnant.
“Although currently there is no risk for local transmission, our residents could be exposed to Zika virus through travel or sexual contact with anyone infected with Zika,” said Marin County Deputy Health Officer, Dr. Lisa Santora.
Zika is difficult to diagnose because of its symptoms, which are similar to so many other illnesses.
More from the release:
"Four out of five infected people will not have any symptoms. Common symptoms of the Zika virus are fever, eye redness, achy joints, and a skin rash. Almost all people with Zika get better without any special treatment, and most do not get very sick or require hospitalization."