The Zika virus has been sweeping Latin America, but health officials in the U.S. are warned of the possibility of the virus reaching the country during the mosquito season. Summer, which will bring with it a rise in mosquito numbers, might see some scattered outbreaks of Zika in the U.S.

Zika Status in the U.S. Remains Promising

The virus spreading in Latin America and Carribean is mostly transmitted through the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can be found in some parts of the United States including the South and some areas of the Midwest and Northeast.

However, there have been no Zika cases in the country that have been caught from mosquitoes. There have been over 300 infections, but all have been travel-related incidents, particularly to regions that are known for the Zika outbreak. Most of the additional Zika cases in U.S. territories are in Puerto Rico, where mosquitoes are already carrying the virus.

While this illness only brings a mild and short period of sickness in most people, it has shown to have devastating effects in pregnant women such as fetal deaths and birth defects like microcephaly (small head size).

U.S. Government Wants to Be Prepared

Health officials said they are not expecting this particular mosquito-borne disease to be a huge problem for the country because of the common precautions for mosquitoes indoors such as air-conditioning and screens. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, especially as the summer season approaches.

"The mosquitoes that carry Zika virus are already active in U.S. territories, hundreds of travelers with Zika have already returned to the continental U.S., and we could well see clusters of Zika virus in the continental U.S. in the coming months," CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. said. "Urgent action is needed, especially to minimize the risk of exposure during pregnancy."

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, pointed out at a CDC summit that the U.S. health sector was caught unprepared when the West Nile virus hit the country 15 years ago. To avoid the same fate, the Obama administration requested almost $2 billion for Zika emergency response work.

In Latin America, Zika Eases Up

One positive news is that the number of infections in the Latin American region seems to be dropping in recent weeks. Countries like Colombia and El Salvador has even decided to adjust the projected impact of the virus due to the decline.

Epidemiologists are still cautious about the outbreaks saying the decreasing numbers are limited to some countries and places like Brazil are still experiencing a consistent rise of Zika. A second wave is also possible, according to Sylvain Aldighieri of the Pan American Health Organisation.