A South Dakota resident is fighting the Zika virus. The Centers for Disease Control reports the victim was infected by a mosquito bite while traveling in the Tropics.
The state’s first case of Zika is an unidentified woman who was not in South Dakota when she became infected. South Dakota State Epidemiologist, Doctor Lon Kightlinger, says we’re a good distance from any mosquito that would spread the virus through its bite.
“We had a South Dakota person who traveled to the Carribean—which is in the Zika zone now—and became sick, and evidently, or obviously, was bitten by a mosquito there; came back to South Dakota, got sick, was tested for Zika virus by the CDC laboratory, and ended up being our first positive case,” says Kightlinger
Kightlinger says Zika is a very mild illness, and not contagious between people—unless the infected person is pregnant. Then the virus can be passed on to the fetus and cause several health concerns. He says the only way to recover is to ride it out.
“There’s no specific treatment for this, no vaccination for this, and if you come home here to South Dakota, there’s no risk to the public. We do not have the Zika-carrying mosquitoes in South Dakota; we’re not a tropical or sub-tropical state, so there’s no risk that it’s gonna spread,” Kightlinger adds.
Kightlinger says South Dakota has a bigger problem with another mosquito-borne illness. He says cases of West Nile Virus are higher than reported last year, and about 30 percent of those infected have been hospitalized. Kightlinger says the state has reached the peak season for West Nile, and people need to take precautions. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Gary Ellenbolt.
