3 Sisters Surrogacy to Include Screening of Zika Virus Risk for All Surrogate Candidates
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) April 25, 2016 -- In an effort to prevent Zika transmission to the babies carried by our gestational surrogates, 3 Sisters Surrogacy is incorporating new screening for this potential threat within its already intense screening protocols.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Zika is a viral illness that is primarily mosquito-borne, with a small number of cases being reported through sexual contact with an infected person. Symptoms generally include rash, fever, joint pain, and red eyes, lasting for several days after transmission. However, if contracted during pregnancy, Zika has been implicated in microcephaly of the fetus, a condition where the head and brain form abnormally small, along with other defects.
“The viral disease as carried by a certain genetic strain of mosquito has not reached the US mainland and precautions to decrease transmission to the population are being implemented. We are encouraging all our surrogate candidates to take the necessary precautions which include making sure their window screens are properly fitted, no standing water is in their yard such as in sand boxes, tire swings and other items which harbor mosquito breeding grounds. Furthermore, we are asking all surrogates and potential surrogates to not travel to any of the areas outside of the US which are experiencing outbreaks,” said Mary Fusillo, RN, BSN, MS, CEO of 3 Sisters Surrogacy.
Additionally, because the Zika virus can be transmitted from gestational mother to the fetus, the CDC also recommends avoiding travel to areas with confirmed mosquito-transmitted virus.
“We are closely following this emerging virus and are taking measures to ensure that all of our gestational carriers are interviewed about recent travel, and must agree to defer any travel to affected areas until their pregnancy is completed,” said Sunday Crider, Ph.D., HCLD/ELD (ABB), 3 Sisters Surrogacy Scientific Director.
Gestational Surrogate candidates that have traveled to Zika-affected areas will be deferred indefinitely, or until a valid screening test and/or vaccine is available. Currently pregnant and future gestational surrogates will be advised to not travel to Zika-affected areas during the course of pregnancy until more is understood about the emerging threat.
About 3 Sisters Surrogacy: 3 Sisters Surrogacy is a gestational surrogacy firm managed by professionals in the women’s healthcare, public health, and infertility fields, including a Registered Nurse with 17+ years of experience in infertility and degrees in Public Health and Nursing and a Board Certified IVF Lab Director/Embryologist with a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Biochemistry. The company is based in Houston, with offices in Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Phoenix. For more information, visit http://www.3sisterssurrogacy.com.
For more information about 3 Sisters Surrogacy:
http://www.3sisterssurrogacy.com
For more information about Zika as an emerging threat:
Centers for Disease Control:
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/
Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/%20EmergencyPreparedness/Counterterrorism/MedicalCountermeasures/MCMIssues/ucm485199.htm
Claire Taylor, [email protected], http://www.thedonorsolution.com, +1 (817) 296-1907, [email protected]
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