CDC reports 683 Zika cases, 1 death in Puerto Rico

April 29, 2016 at 01:26 PM
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Public health authorities confirmed 683 Zika infections during the period from Nov. 1, 2015, through April 14, according to a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One of the patients with a confirmed case of Zika died, and five of the patients were hospitalized with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition related to viral infections that can cause paralysis.

Sixty-five of the patients were pregnant. The CDC will use the Zika Active Pregnancy Surveillance System to monitor the women and get information about any effects the Zika infections might have on the women's babies, researchers said.

"A home-based vector control program focused on pregnant women is under way," researchers said.

Researchers said public health officials are offering mosquito control services through a program that helps pregnant women.

Many people who thought they might have Zika did not appear to have Zika. Eleven percent of the patients tested for Zika were found to have evidence of a Zika infection, researchers said.

A small percentage of the people tested had the Dengue virus or the Chikungunya virus.

Puerto Rico has a population of 3.5 million. The CDC figures means Puerto Rico has had about 20 confirmed Zika infections per 100,000 residents.

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