Zika Virus: Helpful Tips for Pregnant Women
With worries of Zika on the rise, how can pregnant women, who are twice as likely to be bit, protect themselves against mosquitoes?
FOX’s Alex Hein explains with your “Housecall for Health”:
This is Housecall for Health.
With the summer sun upon us, many have amped up their mosquito control measures in fear of the Zika virus. For pregnant women especially, taking these precautions are vital. According to a 2000 study, pregnant women are twice as likely to be bitten by certain types of mosquitoes.
Researchers say there are two reasons for this: One pregnant women exhale more air than non-pregnant women, leading mosquitoes to be attracted to the carbon dioxide in their breath. Pregnant women’s abdomens are also roughly .7 degrees Celsius hotter than normal, so their skin releases more volatile compounds like mosquito attracting lactic acid.
The Zika virus has wreaked havoc in the Americas and Caribbean, with many countries reporting babies born with severe birth defects. The Zika virus has not been detected in New York mosquitoes yet, but they can also carry other viruses like West Nile.
For more on this story, check FOXNewsHealth.com.
Housecall for Health, I’m Alex Hein, FOX News.
