The Zika virus is spreading, and even though no cases have been reported in Emporia, health officials are warning residents to take preventative measures against this disease. Diana Moore, a public health nurse at Flint Hills Community Health Center, stated that one known patient with the Zika virus exists in Kansas — a traveler who brought the disease in from outside the country.
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The virus itself was first discovered in 1947 through animal testing in Uganda. That testing took place in the Zika Forest, which is why the virus bears that name. Moore explained that the primary transmission vector of the disease is through mosquito bites, but there is a much more intimate way for males and females to contract it.
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Symptoms of the virus are highly ambiguous, and there is no way to know you have the virus without undergoing costly tests. Due to the fact that the virus causes irreversible birth defects like microcephaly in developing fetuses, the Centers for Disease Control are asking the federal government for funds to develop treatment options for it.
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With no known cure for the virus, the only way for people to protect themselves from it is to wear mosquito repellent and practice safe sex. Property owners are encouraged to eliminate standing water and other mosquito breeding sites as well. Even with those sites eliminated, Moore cautioned residents that mosquitoes can become virus carriers if they bite someone who is already infected.
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