ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation this week plans to hold a webinar on protection against the Zika virus.

An Aedes aegypti mosquito

In the webinar, titled “Zika Prevention Strategies: Patient & Community Health,” health officials will discuss prevention strategies focusing on mosquito bite prevention and avoidance of exposure. The NACDS Foundation noted that the webinar will provide community pharmacists information on the Zika virus as well as on community surveillance and patient counseling.

Speakers include Jeffrey Bratberg, clinical professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, and Paul Jarris, senior vice president of maternal child health for the March of Dimes Foundation.

The 60-minute webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 25, at 4 p.m. ET. One hour of live continuing education credit will be available for the ACPE-accredited program. (Click here to register.)

Spread mainly via infected mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes mosquito, the Zika virus has become a growing health threat to people living in or traveling to Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, among other affected areas. Infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly, a serious birth defect, as well as other severe fetal brain defects. Rare but serious neurological conditions like Guillain-Barré syndrome are also seen at much higher rates in people infected with Zika. There is no vaccine available for Zika virus.