DL-014: Zika Virus, 1 CE

Helen Sowers, MA, CLS Dept. of Biological Science (Retired) California State University East Bay Approved for 1.0 CE Level of Difficulty: Basic CAMLT is approved by the California Department of Public Health as a CA CLS Accrediting Agency (#21) The spread of Zika virus illness is of particular concern because of the complication of microcephaly in fetuses of infected mothers. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes, and of occasional Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Currently outbreaks are occurring in many countries, particularly in northern South America, islands in the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico. Zika virus will continue to spread and it will be difficult to determine how it will spread over time.