A man and a woman in the Caribbean country of St. Lucia have locally got the Zika virus, which has been associated with hundreds of cases of a uncommon birth defect in Brazil, the first infections by the mosquito-borne virus in the island nation.
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“If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, I would advise against traveling to areas infected with Zika if at all possible”, said Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas Department of Health Director and State Health Officer.
The agency says the woman had visited an area of the world where the Zika virus has been actively transmitted.
“Zika virus is impacting Florida, Puerto Rico and South America, and we must be prepared for what is predicted to be an even more explosive outbreak”, Rubio said.
But the virus can be spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus, and it has been linked to a serious birth defect called microcephaly, distinguished by small heads, among babies born to mothers infected with Zika.
Without full Zika funding, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said mosquito control and surveillance may have to be delayed or stopped, vaccine development could be jeopardized and development of faster diagnostic tests could be impaired. “A lot of this is about going to people and saying, ‘There are simple, common sense things you can do, not just to protect yourself from Zika but to protect yourself from any mosquito-borne illness”.
In January, the state’s health department confirmed the first case in an Arkansan.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Friday broke with other congressional Republicans and supported the White House’s request for $1.9 billion in new funding to fight the Zika virus, according to the Miami Herald. Zika spreads through the bite of certain types of mosquitoes that don’t live in Montana.
County, state, and federal officials are working to monitor Zika cases.
Gimenez said Miami-Dade’s budget of about $1.68 million for mosquito control is “not set in stone”, and that three months ago he ordered county administrators to spend “whatever it takes” on spraying and other efforts.
A Southwest Florida blood bank is seeking donations before Floridians contract the Zika virus from local mosquitoes.
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Residents of American Samoa have been reminded that the territory is in the midst of an outbreak of the Zika virus as attention focuses on Flag Day on the 18th of April. Seven were sexually transmitted and one was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Appointments at the Salt Lake County Health Department Travel Clinic can be made by calling 385-468-4111.
