While no vaccine or particularly effective diagnostic treatment for Zika virus exists, the CDC has issued interim guidelines to help providers do all they can to identify women who may carry the virus early on.
Current diagnoses for Zika are made through molecular and serologic testing, and the CDC recommends both for infants who could be at risk. No commercial tests are available. CDC's interim guidelines also include:
- How providers should report cases of infants carrying Zika to state and local health departments.
- Metrics for determining whether infants have microcephaly, a deformity in the size of the head linked to Zika that can cause severe developmental problems or death.
- How to manage care and treatment of infants who do not have microcephaly but whose mothers may have been infected with the virus at time of birth.
- Best practices for preventing mosquito bites for areas where active virus transmission is a risk.