A second person has tested positive for the Zika virus in King County, public health officials reported Wednesday.
The teenage girl — who is not being identified publicly at this time — is no longer ill from the virus and has not pregnant at the time, according to Public Health for Seattle and King County. This case does not pose a risk to the public, they added.
She reportedly contracted the virus while visiting Haiti. The virus has been spreading actively in that country and is under travel advisory by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first local case of Zika was identified in a male in his forties last month who had traveled to Columbia. This is the fifth case of Zika in Washington.
All five cases have been contracted while the victims were in countries with current Zika outbreaks. With ongoing widespread outbreaks in the Americas and the Caribbean including Puerto Rico, the number of Zika cases among travelers visiting or returning to King County and elsewhere in the mainland United States will likely increase. However, the types of mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not found in the Pacific Northwest, so local health officials do not expect Zika virus to spread.
The virus is primarily spread through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictusmosquitoes, or less commonly, through sexual contact with a recently infected man. The types of mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not found in the Pacific Northwest, so local health officials do not expect Zika virus to spread here.
Zika infection is a very serious concern for pregnant women because of its link with a birth defect in newborns called microcephaly, an abnormally small brain and skull, and other poor pregnancy outcomes. Zika is also linked to Guillan-Barré Syndrome, a problem marked by muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
“Zika is a serious risk for pregnant women who travel to areas where outbreaks are occurring and who have sex partners who have traveled to these areas,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Women who are pregnant should avoid travel to Zika-affected areas if possible and both women and men who do travel to areas where the Zika virus is spreading should take precautions to prevent infection from this virus.”
Symptoms of Zika are generally mild and include fever, rash, joint pain and redness of the eyes. Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Many people who get Zika have no symptoms at all.
There is no vaccine to prevent infection or medicine to treat Zika.
More information relating to preventing sexual transmission of Zika can be found here.