A week after the Ministry of Health confirmed the first locally transmitted case of the virus, and verified that there were two imported cases, heath officials now say that the country has seven cases.
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The conference call came as the Department of Health on Thursday announced the number of Zika cases has reached 486, almost doubling the cases since July 1. The virus can cause a transitory illness but is most risky to pregnant women, since maternal infection can trigger a serious birth defect called microcephaly. Evidence suggests that Zika can also be transmitted through sexual contact if a man has been infected.
As is the case with MI, there have been no cases of Zika virus transmitted through mosquitoes in Ohio. Those cases stem from people who were infected elsewhere and brought the virus into Florida.
“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.
Puerto Rico governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said he had asked government officials to declare a public health emergency and thanked them for their support.
The declaration allows the US Department of Health and Human Services to award grants, access emergency funds and temporarily appoint staff where needed.
“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, said department secretary Sylvia Burwell, who travelled to the USA territory in late April to evaluate its response to the spread of the virus.
The virus is most seen in Latin America and the Caribbean. “This is the time for our community to step up efforts to ‘fight the bite, ‘ by seeing a doctor if you have even mild symptoms, especially if you have traveled to parts of the world where there are outbreaks of these viruses”.
A bill providing $US1.1 billion was blocked by Democrats after Republicans attached language to stop abortion-provider Planned Parenthood from using that government funding for healthcare services, mainly in United States territories like Puerto Rico.
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Zika is a mosquito-borne virus.
