Some Experts Question Extent of U.S. Zika Threat

Some Experts Question Extent of U.S. Zika Threat

They say Gulf Coast states face risk, but most other states probably don't

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 26, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Are health officials in the United States overreacting to the threat posed by the Zika virus this summer?

Some leading insect and infectious-diseases experts think so, arguing that the mosquito-borne virus is unlikely to become a widespread hazard to pregnant women throughout the United States.

"I think the risk for Zika actually setting up transmission cycles that become established in the continental U.S. is near zero," said Chris Barker, a mosquito-borne virus researcher at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

He said Zika should follow a pattern similar to other tropical diseases spread by mosquito bites, such as dengue fever and chikungunya, which have failed to gain any significant foothold in the United States.

"We do a pretty good job of shielding ourselves from mosquito bites in this country, with our screening and air conditioning. That seems to be enough to limit the risk for dengue, and we think the same will be true for Zika," Barker said.

If that proves true, then small Zika outbreaks could occur in southern states where the breeds of mosquito that carry these diseases are most active, Barker and other experts said.

Zika virus is frightening because it's the first mosquito-borne illness known to cause a brain-related birth defect -- in this case microcephaly -- if an expectant mother becomes infected.

Microcephaly results in babies born with abnormally small heads and brains. Nearly 5,000 babies have been born with microcephaly in Brazil, the epicenter of the Zika epidemic, according to the World Health Organization.

Given the threat to pregnant women and their fetuses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has chosen to err on the side of caution in its Zika response, said agency spokesman Tom Skinner.

"The bottom line is that no one can predict with absolute certainty what's going to happen here in the United States when it comes to local transmission of Zika virus," Skinner said. "Many areas in the U.S. have the type of mosquitoes that can transmit this virus. We just can't predict with any absolute certainty what's going to happen."

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