CDC Director Tom Frieden said, “We’re in the midst of mosquito season and expect more Zika infections in the days and months to come”. “We can’t predict how long this will continue, but we do know that it will be hard to control”.
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The first case of Zika Virus has been found in Ventura County, health officials said Friday.
Five people – including visitors from New York, Texas and Taiwan – have contracted the virus in South Beach, Florida officials said. But crowds of tourists on Miami Beach, and the abundance of people in bathing suits and exposed skin, means more people may be infected. He described the area on the narrow island city as just under 1.5 miles between 8th and 28th streets.
Florida’s hotel industry fears the Zika virus will spread through Miami Beach, a world tourist destination for its sun, sand and leisure pastimes that bring the area some $24 billion annually. Pregnant couples also “might consider” staying out of Miami-Dade County altogether until further notice, the CDC said. The virus can cause birth defects, including abnormally small heads and brains in a condition called microcephaly. Governor Rick Scott said at a press conference that they had identified a new area in Miami Beach where local transmissions were occurring and that they are stepping up pesticide spraying efforts in that area. He says his team is monitoring areas that have large mosquito populations.
The high-risk cases were identified as pregnant women, children under five years, people over 60 years and hospitalised cases.
Earlier this month Florida began aerial spraying of insecticides to kill mosquitoes in the Wynwood neighborhood.
Organizers for Art Basel Miami Beach and other upcoming events cautiously expressed confidence in the region’s mosquito control efforts.
Frieden said the CDC already has sent Florida 10,000 cans of mosquito repellent, which is included in a Zika prevention kit along with bed netting and other materials.
The top Democrat in the Senate says Congress must return from its weekslong summer break to deal with the Zika virus, an unlikely scenario in light of the dysfunction that prevented lawmakers from agreeing on money to fight the mosquito-borne disease.
Romero said she’s been attending Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board meetings and has heard all of the research.
“Right now, the number of eggs we are getting is very much reduced in the treated site”, Cornel said. “I’m anxious about how to communicate better so that people who should be anxious about Zika take the right measures to protect themselves, and that’s mainly pregnant women and their partners”.
President Barack Obama’s administration has sought almost US$2 billion in emergency appropriations to help fight the spread of Zika, but Congress has been deadlocked for months and left for its summer recess without approving any funding.
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As of Wednesday, August 17, there have been 2,260 reported cases of Zika contraction within the United States, mostly contracted from travel outside of the country.
