Health Department: Costa Mesa man contracts Zika virus
A female aegypti mosquito acquires blood from a human host in this 2006 file photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first documented case of the Zika virus has been linked to a Costa Mesa man who had traveled to Central America.
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Orange County’s first documented case of the Zika virus has been linked to a Costa Mesa man who contracted it while traveling in Central America, Orange County Health Care Agency officials said Thursday.
The man, described to be in his 40s, contracted the virus from a mosquito in late January. He showed symptoms last month.
The man was never seriously ill and has since recovered, officials said.
The infectious disease has possible links with causing abnormally small heads and brains in newborns.
“There is no vaccine to protect against Zika infection,” Dr. Matthew Zahn, Orange County’s director of disease control and epidemiology, said in a statement. “People who travel to areas with active transmission of Zika must take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.”
Zika virus symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. Many who get infected show no symptoms and hospitalization is uncommon.
Local transmission has not yet occurred in California, according to the county health officials, though the virus is spread through invasive Aedes mosquitoes, which are present in Orange County.
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Bradley Zint, [email protected]
Twitter: @BradleyZint
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