Experts: SC Zika outbreak unlikely, but caution urged

An outbreak of the Zika virus in South Carolina is possible, but not probable, local doctors and disease experts say.

But pregnant women who have recently traveled to Mexico, Central and South America or some Caribbean islands should be aware of symptoms of the virus, which causes children to be born with small heads or hardened spots on their brains. Any pregnant woman planning to travel to those areas, where the virus has spread, should either cancel her plans or take strict precautions to avoid being bitten by the aggressive mosquito that spreads the virus.

“I don’t want to get people scared about it coming to the United States,” said Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch, division director for pediatric infectious diseases at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

“We have no idea if that will happen,” said Burch, who serves in that same capacity at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. “But making smart decisions about travel will help reduce the risk.”

Dr. Nichole McDonald, an OB/GYN with Lexington Women’s Care, said the state could be at risk if women and authorities are not vigilant. “It is a possibility,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a high probability. But the United States is close to those areas” where the virus has taken root.

Although confirmed cases have been diagnosed in both Texas and California from women who had traveled to endemic areas, officials say outbreaks of the disease in the United States is unlikely. One Texas case was reportedly transmitted sexually.

“The only reported cases of Zika virus in the continental U.S. have been reported in U.S. travelers who have visited areas where the Zika virus is common,” said Robert Yanity, a spokesman for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Zika virus is spread to people through bites from the aedes aegypti, or yellow fever, mosquito, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Symptoms of the disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, or red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week.

While anyone can contract the virus, no symptoms arise in 80 percent of men and non-pregnant women who do, Burch said. If symptoms develop, they are usually very mild. On Monday, the World Health Organization designated the Zika virus as a public health emergency of international concern. The organization has taken that action only three times before, according to The Washington Post.

Health authorities have said the virus is spreading “explosively” through the Americas. The World Health Organization has estimated the virus will infect 4 million people in the hemisphere by year’s end, according to The Washington Post.

Most recently, the disease has popped up in the the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, leading to fears that it could spread to the southern United States, which also is home to that particular type of mosquito.

“We’re always concerned about mosquitoes with any disease,” Yanity said. “But we have no confirmed cases in South Carolina.”

Given the enormous amount of rain and the unusually warm weather locally during the last few months, Richland County officials have said conditions exist for swarms of mosquitoes. Officials have already enacted an accelerated spraying program.

Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on a person already infected with the virus, according to DHEC. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other people through bites.

But Yanity, the DHEC spokesman, noted that local governments, not DHEC, should make decisions about spraying programs.

“Given that there are no confirmed cases of Zika virus here in South Carolina . . ., there is an extremely low risk of mosquitoes here in South Carolina being infected with Zika virus,” he said. “Mosquito-borne illnesses of all types are always a concern living in South Carolina where mosquitoes are prevalent, which is why it is important to take precaution against mosquito bites.”

However, three women in South Carolina who traveled to countries with outbreaks of Zika and who showed symptoms have been tested for the disease by the CDC, he said. Of those, two have been cleared and one case is still pending.

Doctors, hospitals and clinics are all being advised by the CDC to be aware of pregnant women exhibiting symptoms and to disseminate information about the disease to their patients.

Lexington County Medical Center spokeswoman Jennifer Wilson said as yet, the hospital and its clinics have not received many calls about the disease.

“But I anticipate that as this become more prevalent in the media, more people will have concerns,” she said.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Experts: SC Zika outbreak unlikely, but caution urged."