We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

How safe are YOU?: CDC describes how to avoid Zika

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes

'What we're trying to do is be scientifically responsible and accurate about where the risk is really minimal and provide the most important advice that people can use.'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released more information to help the public stay safe from contracting the Zika virus.

We ask you, humbly, to help.

Highlights

By Kenya Sinclair (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
3/13/2016 (8 years ago)

Published in Health

Keywords: Zika, virus, CDC, WHO, mosquitos

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the CDC website, there are no vaccines available to prevent Zika.

Known causes are through sexual contact with an affected person and mosquito bites.

Support Catholic Online School

If travel to countries where Zika and the virus-carrying mosquitoes are present, it is important to adhere to the following guidelines as stated by the CDC:

Wear long-sleeve tops and long pants
Use door and window screens to keep mosquitoes outside
Sleep in mosquito bed nets if unable to procure a bedroom with screens over the windows and doors
When using insect repellents, make sure they are registered by the EPA and:
Follow the label's instructions
Do not spray beneath clothing
Apply sunblock before spraying the repellent

Help through Prayer & Action

If you have a baby or young child:

Don't use repellents on children under 2-months-old
Dress children in long sleeve tops and long pants
Cover all cribs, strollers and carriers with mosquito netting
Never apply repellent into eyes, mouth, cuts, irritated skin or onto children's hands
For applying repellent on children's faces, first apply to your own hands, then wipe the child's face
It is also possible to treat clothes and gear with permethrin, which is a repellent to keep biting, chewing, scaling, soil and flying invertebrates at bay.
The countries in which Zika has become an epidemic include Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela and Guatemala.
One of the best ways to avoid contracting Zika is to avoid traveling to these countries and to avoid sexual contact with anyone who was recently traveled there.
The mosquitos that carry the virus, Aedes aegypti, are found in warm regions above 6,562 feet.

"What we're trying to do is be scientifically responsible and accurate about where the risk is really minimal and provide the most important advice that people can use," Martin Cetron, the senior medical officer for the CDC reported.

"We know that mosquitos don't exist at the top of Mount Everest. The question is, how low can you go and what is the threshold where you are unlikely to find these mosquitos?"

---