CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, said Zika is still a large threat and people should not forgo protective measures against the infection, according to STAT.
Here are five things to know:
1. Dr. Frieden told STAT if a woman is pregnant, she should not travel to a place where Zika-transmission is active.
2. Many believe the Zika's threat is diminishing or surpassed, but Dr. Frieden countered these claims saying it continues to be "a devastating problem for families and individuals."
3. The CDC has dealt with many firsts when dealing with Zika including advising pregnant women to avoid various U.S. regions and 13 Latin American countries. The CDC also created a registry to track Zika-infected women's pregnancies.
4. Mounting evidence linked Zika to microcephaly in newborns, but the agency did not have definitive proof. Nonetheless, the CDC issued a warning concerning microcephaly for pregnant women in January 2016 which Dr. Frieden told STAT "may have been the single most important thing we did."
5. The CDC has recruited experts spanning many fields such as infectious diseases, birth defects, reproductive health, mosquito control and sexually transmitted diseases to manage its response to the infection.
