Zika: What pregnant women in North Carolina need to know

Deli meat. Weight gain. Back pain. Every little cramp or wiggle. Pregnant women have plenty to worry about. And now they can add one more big one: the Zika virus.

For anybody expecting a child - or thinking about having one - the headlines this past year likely have been scary. Zika primarily spreads through infected mosquitoes, but it's not the only way. Some have gotten Zika from having sex with a person who has the virus.

It's easy for most people to shake off Zika if they get it. In fact, many people with Zika have no symptoms or very mild ones, such as a fever, rash or joint pain. But, if the person with Zika is pregnant, the result can be devastating.

"It's a common concern because it’s a disease that’s not occurred in the Western Hemisphere before," State Public Health Veterinarian Carl Williams said in an interview. "It’s something that people don't know much about. There is legitimate concern and people want to know if they are at risk in their home state."

Thankfully, here in North Carolina, there's a lot of good news for women who are expecting or hope to become pregnant. The mosquito most commonly associated with the Zika virus, called Aedes aegypti, has not been identified in North Carolina this year, according to the N.C. Division of Public Health. The agency is working with local health departments, Western Carolina University, East Carolina University and N.C. State University to collect and identify mosquitoes across the state. So far, they've tagged more than 30,000 mosquitos in 16 counties.

While there have been some cases identified in North Carolina, none of those infected people picked up the virus here.

Stringer has been following the headlines and working to contribute her own expertise to the issue. When the Zika outbreak was first reported, Stringer collaborated with other researchers at UNC who work with arborviruses, such as Zika, in both Central and South America. They brainstormed key research ideas and published a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Stringer also has been able to take advantage of her prior experience in Africa and her expertise in maternal-fetal medicine to contribute to our knowledge of Zika and pregnancy.

"I think that the threat at this point is very low considering that the mosquito most commonly associated with the Zika virus has not been identified in North Carolina this year," she said.

Williams agrees.

"We never say anything is zero risk with a biological system, but, historically, if we look at other diseases that are transmitted similarly, ... there's no historical presentation for transmission of a virus like that by mosquitos in North Carolina," he said.

"I think pregnant women do need to prepare for the potential for Zika in North Carolina, but I also think that the cases will likely be fewer than in states like Florida, Texas, and California," Stringer said.

Still, there are important steps that Stringer and Williams said pregnant women in North Carolina can take to protect themselves.

And, thankfully, mosquito season, for the year, is wrapping up. The peak comes in August and early September, Williams said.

"We're at the end. The peak is probably behind us," Williams said. "We'll see a steady decline now as the weather cools."

But, Williams said, officials and researchers will be out on the watch again next spring to look for those pesky Aedes aegypti and the virus that they might bring.