Zika "scarier than initially thought"; local health officials prepare

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - As the weather gets warmer, public health officials want people to take extra precautions in preventing mosquito bites as federal officials said the Zika virus is "scarier than initially thought." The Aedes aegypti or yellow fever mosquito carries the Zika virus. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday, April 11, the mosquitoes are now in 30 states - not 12. Those include Kentucky, and parts of southern Indiana and Ohio. "Everything we look at with this virus seems to be a bit scarier than we initially thought," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC. The Asian tiger mosquito can also transmit the Zika virus. New research is linking it to premature births, blindness in newborns and a rare illness of the nervous system. In Brazil, scientists think it may cause a disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord in adults similar to Multiple Sclerosis. Zika was initially thought to impact fetuses during the first trimester. But officials said it could cause problems throughout a pregnancy. It can cause microcephaly - a condition that causes an infant to be born with an abnormally small head. "If I was a pregnant woman I wouldn't have sex," said Dr. O'dell Owens of the Cincinnati Health Dept. Dr. Owens said pregnant women who are planning to have intercourse with someone who has traveled to an area where Zika is being transmitted should only have intercourse when using a condom properly. Zika can be transmitted sexually and can live in someone's system for 12 weeks. To date, the only Zika cases in Ohio have occurred in people who have traveled to areas where Zika is present. "The problem that you worry about is if someone would get bitten in South America, come to Cincinnati, and one of our local mosquitoes bites them and then bites somebody else. That's called that local transmission," said Dr. Owens. While federal officials don't expect large outbreaks in the continental U.S., they're also not assuming Zika won't be a problem. Dr. Owens said taking precautions is the best way to prevent transmission of the virus. "The main thing, just don't have any standing water, that's going to be the biggest issue, protect yourself by wearing the right clothes and using spray. Just don't get a mosquito bite." The White House wants Congress to allocate $1.9 billion for Zika research. Currently, $500 million designated for the Ebola virus has been used for Zika virus research. Testing on a Zika vaccine is expected to start in September.