13 Zika Virus Cases Now Reported in Virginia

PHOTO: Mosquito image courtesy of CDC

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Two new cases of the Zika virus were reported Thursday in Virginia, both of them in Northern Virginia, bringing the total of cases reported in the Northern Virginia area to 5 and the total in the state to 13, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

There are 388 cases nationwide, as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Thirty-three with the virus are pregnant, the CDC says.

Government scientists have reported they have determined that the Zika virus causes severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and brains that do not develop properly.

Also read: Zika Threat in Virginia: 7 Tips This Mosquito Season

Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (A. aegypti andA. albopictus), as well as from mother to unborn child and through sexual contact, according to the CDC.

No local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported in the United States.

Symptomatic patients typically experience a mild illness characterized by fever, rash, joint pain, and/or conjunctivitis, according to the CDC.

Virginia recently received approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for Zika, allowing for more timely results for people who suspect they're infected with the mosquito-borne illness, officials said in a news release.

"When facing threats to public health, such as Zika virus, accurate and timely laboratory testing is not only important for providing appropriate patient care but also for supporting public health response efforts," Dr. Denise Toney, the division's director, said in the release.

Who should be tested for the Zika virus?

• Pregnant women who have traveled to a Zika-affected area within the past 12 weeks
• Pregnant women who have a sexual partner who has traveled to a Zika-affected area and had symptoms of Zika during or within two weeks of travel or is confirmed to have Zika
• Men or women who did not travel to a Zika-affected area but have symptoms of Zika who have a sexual partner who traveled to a Zika-affected area and either have symptoms or have been diagnosed
• Men who traveled to a Zika-affected area and have symptoms and have a sexual partner who is pregnant or who have a sexual partner who did not travel but has symptoms or is diagnosed

Areas where local mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus has been reported:

• Zika Virus in Cape Verde
• Zika Virus in Mexico
• The Caribbean; currently includes: Aruba; Barbados; Bonaire; Cuba; Curaçao; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Jamaica; Martinique; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a US territory; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sint Maarten;Trinidad and Tobago; US Virgin Islands
• Central America; currently includes: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,Panama
• The Pacific Islands; currently includes: American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia),Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga
• South America/currently includes: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay,Suriname, Venezuela
• 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio 2016)

American territories where Zika has been reported transmitted by mosquitoes:

• Puerto Rico
• US Virgin Islands
• American Samoa