Background on Zika Virus
Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted virus that is associated with microcephaly and other birth defects in infants whose mothers contract it during pregnancy, and may also be associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome. People infected with Zika virus generally do not have symptoms or have mild illness. The virus can also be transmitted from mother to her child during pregnancy, through sexual contact, through blood transfusion, and through laboratory exposure. Learn more in ACOG’s Practice Advisory on Zika.
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Zika Virus and Pregnancy: What Obstetric Health Care Providers Need to Know, in Obstetrics & Gynecology, released February 18, 2016, reviews information on Zika virus, its clinical presentation, modes of transmission, laboratory testing, effects during pregnancy, and methods of prevention.
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The History of Zika from the World Health Organization explores the history of Zika virus from its discovery in 1947 to the current outbreak.
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Zika Virus and Birth Defects - Reviewing the Evidence for Causality, in the New England Journal of Medicine, published May 2016, addresses the CDC’s confirmation that prenatal Zika virus causes microcephaly and other fetal brain anomalies.
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Zika and Guillain-Barré Syndrome from CDC offers information about the possible link between Zika virus and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
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Zika Virus Information for Healthcare Providers. CDC's Zika webpage of healthcare provider resources.
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Zika Virus: Information for Clinicians Slide Set. CDC’s slide set for clinicians on Zika virus, updated June 13, 2016.
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Print Resources in Different Languages. CDC fact sheets and posters for distribution to patients are available in Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Creole, and Korean. These resources cover a variety of topics, including travel information, insect repellent, sexual transmission, and mosquito control.
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Infographic: Growing Up After Zika from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development shows Zika's effects on the developing brain.