Zika virus should be suspected for patients who have recently traveled to Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, who exhibit flu-like symptoms.
The primary risk associated with Zika may be its association with pregnancy and babies born with microcephaly. Zika most often manifests as mild, flu-like symptoms: fever, rash, joint pain, muscle aches, and conjunctivitis. Standard precautions should be used.
This flu-like disease is spread via mosquitos, although utero transmission and sexual transmission are a possibility. We will not be implementing a travel screening process for the Zika virus because it is not spread from person-to-person, with the possible exception of sexual transmission and utero transmission.
If you suspect a patient’s history and symptoms may be indicative of Zika virus, please contact the local health department for additional information about testing and follow-up.
The CDC has detailed, up-to-date information and recommendations for this emerging organism.