Baltimore County, MD Hello Baltimore County, 6 Jul 2016

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From YouTube: Zap Zika

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Learn what you should know to protect your family from the Zika virus.

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( ♪♪♪ ).

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Welcome to hello, baltimore county., I'm your host, ellen kobler.. You can hardly turn on the national news without hearing about the zika virus.

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here to provide us with in depth. Information is dr.: lucia, donatelli,.

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Who is chief of the protection, prevention, and preparedness bureau.

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Of the baltimore county health department.. Thank you so much for joining us., you're, welcome., so, zika sounds new and sort of exotic and incredibly tragic.

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When it involves pregnant women.

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tell us:, why is this virus just now coming into focus?.

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Well,, it actually has been around for a little while.

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The zika virus was first found in rhesus monkeys in the zika forest in uganda., and so there have been isolated outbreaks in places. Like--.

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In some places in africa,, southeast asia,.

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But it wasn't until may of 2015 that we had the first confirmed case in brazil.

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So that's when zika finally hit the americas.

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and since then, it has spread to central and south america,.

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The caribbean, some of the u.s. territories throughout the world.

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And how is it believed that the virus traveled from continent to continent??

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Is it through travelers? like,? The little mosquito didn't fly all the way across the world.

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No, no, no, no. it's through people. through people.

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Local transmission occurs when a mosquito bites a person.

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That still has the infection in their blood., and so then the mosquito becomes infected and then the next person that they bite then can possibly get the disease.

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I mean, it's really kind of scary.

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How does somebody get the virus just from a mosquito bite,, a single mosquito bite?.

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Well,, what we're focusing on primarily is from mosquitoes,.

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But there are other ways that the virus can be transmitted.

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The virus can also be transmitted from a man to a woman, sexually --.

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So sexual transmission, from a man to a woman.

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Also, through blood., it is thought that the mosquito can-- the virus can be transmitted through blood.

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Okay. so, for instance, blood donations, through a blood transfusion.

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And then there are theoretical thoughts that it could be also be transmitted.

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Through organ or tissue donation, as well.

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The other way that it could be transmitted is from a pregnant woman.

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To her unborn child.

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Right. okay, not to get too particular here,.

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But you did say from a man to woman sexually..

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Is it not, then, from a man to a man sexually?, I'm sorry. from a man to a man, also, yes.

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okay,, just to clarify that.

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okay,? So most people are likely to get a mosquito bite.

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Over the course of the summer., how concerned should they be and what should they do to protect themselves?.

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Well, at this point, in the continental, united states,.

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There is no local active, ongoing transmission of zika virus.

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The cases that we have in maryland, -- there are to date about 26 --.

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Have all been travel-associated. okay, people who traveled somewhere else,.

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Got the mosquito bite, and came home.

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Correct. contracted the disease, right, when they were abroad.

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Okay,, it's not necessarily a mosquito.

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okay,. So should people be concerned about traveling this summer?.

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Absolutely, yes., it's very important that before they do any traveling that they check on the cdc's website to see where the areas are.

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With active, ongoing transmission of zika.

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Okay, and if you're, not a woman, who's pregnant or planning to become pregnant,, do you need to be concerned.

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And what symptoms could occur?.

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You still need to be concerned because you don't want to be the person.

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That becomes sick with zika virus and doesn't do the things.

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To protect themselves and to protect other people.

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and then, you know,, you don't want to be that person that is going to be the cause of local transmission., right. okay,, good point.

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Now, pregnant women are at particular risk.

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So what are their risks and what should they do??

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Well, there's been a lot of information in the media.

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About specifically birth, defects,, microcephaly.

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The reason that we are so concerned about the zika virus is because it can affect a baby,, an unborn child,, and it can cause--.

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It has been linked to --, and the studies show that it can cause.

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Birth defects, ranging from still birth to microcephaly.,.

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But there are other things as well,, such as impaired, vision,, impaired hearing,, impaired growth in general,.

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Seizure disorders,, neurological disorders.

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Those are things that,, you know, how zika can affect a baby.

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Oh, my goodness!, so what would you recommend for a pregnant woman.

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Who has plans to travel into one of the zika-affected areas?.

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Well, most importantly, that they need to protect themselves.

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Against mosquito bites. and when they come home,, they really need to monitor themselves -- again, to protect themselves again from mosquito bites and monitor themselves for symptoms.

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keeping in mind that only about one in five people actually comes down with symptoms of zika virus.

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Okay,, so a lot of people may have it and could be somebody who could be transmitting the disease,.

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But they don't even have symptoms. exactly.

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Okay, and as far as protecting yourself from mosquitoes,.

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What's the official advice?.

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Well,, you should wear clothing, that's going to provide a barrier.

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Against mosquito bites; using epa-registered insect repellent.

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Another important thing to protect against mosquitoes is to monitor your yard and your community and avoid creating mosquito breeding sites.

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By getting rid of your trash around your yard and by emptying water-holding containers.,.

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Okay, so don't provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

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Correct. okay, and what is the baltimore county health department doing specifically in response to this threat?.

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We are taking calls from concerned residents,.

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As well as health care providers., we are, when a patient comes in to a provider's office.

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And they are concerned about zika virus,.

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We help decide whether testing is warranted or not.

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And going back to your other question,.

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Any pregnant woman that comes back from a zika-infected area should get,.

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Regardless of whether they have symptoms or not,, they should get tested for zika virus.

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Is it a blood test? blood and urine.

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really?, okay. and then-- interesting.?

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So then, if they find that they have it,, is there something that can be done to protect them? Further?.

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Well, unfortunately, there is no medication to treat zika virus.

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There is no vaccine. basically,, you treat the symptoms., so you would use antipyretics for treating fever.

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If you became nauseous,, you would use anti-nausea medications;.

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Rest and fluids., it's symptomatic treatment.

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Okay, so in the minute, or so that we have left, just kind of,.

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If you could give a general overview about zika.

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And people needing to protect themselves from mosquitos.

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Well, we have a public messaging campaign,.

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Which is to "zap zika." to protect you and your family from zika,? We want you to "wrap up.".

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The "w" is to wear protective clothing -- long, sleeve, shirts, hats,, you know, long sleeve, pants.

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The "r" is to repair window and door screens.

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So that mosquitoes stay outside and don't come in the house, because these mosquitoes, these 80 species mosquitoes, they like being around where people are.

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Right, and once they get in, forget it., (, laughter, ),.

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All right,, so the "a"?, so the "a" is for always empty water-holding containers in your yard.

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Or in your community, and make sure that you dump your trash to avoid creating mosquito breeding sites.

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The "p" is to protect yourself using epa-registered insect repellent.

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The "u" is to use protection if you've been to a zika-infected area.

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Use protection such as either abstaining from sex or wearing condoms.

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Okay. and then the "p" is for pregnant women --.

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They should avoid traveling to areas that are affected by zika virus.

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All right, well! Thank you so much for this information.

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you're welcome! sure,, and thank you for watching hello, baltimore county..

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You can find out more about the county's efforts to prevent zika.

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On the county website at baltimorecountymd.gov.

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And we encourage you to connect with baltimore county government on facebook and twitter., we'll see you next time.

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