St Lucia has confirmed its first two cases of the Zika virus, both of which were caught locally.
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Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said the city will be keeping a closer eye on the mosquito population this year – increasing by 20% to 50% the number of traps laid for the insects. More than 300 illnesses have been reported, all linked to travel to Zika outbreak regions.
The virus is spread mainly by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which also live in parts of the U.S. It was thought to be mainly in the South but the CDC revised its map this week, showing the mosquito has been found in parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Although there’s much unknown about the virus, researchers are finding that it is strongly associated with birth abnormalities. As of March 30, at least 28,610 people have been infected and 11,308 died.Washington D.C, April 10: With Zika virus reaching epidemic levels throughout South and Central America, southern Mexico and the Caribbean, a team of innovators has taken some old tires and turned them into a potential weapon against the deadly disease.
There’s no current plan to increase spraying, which is already done to combat West Nile Virus, but the department is studying what kinds of insecticides to use if they do opt to eradicate the Asian tiger mosquito.
Responding to questions at a press conference yesterday, Senior Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George said the Ministry of Health had not followed the lead of others around the world in advising women against getting pregnant.
Men who visit a country where Zika is active should use condoms with any partner who could become pregnant for six months after their return; men with a pregnant partner should use condoms for the duration of the pregnancy.
Officials from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Health Human Services and the State Department said they would move the budget that was originally meant to protect against Ebola virus in 2014.
All of Florida’s Zika virus infections had been contracted by people traveling outside the country – until Wednesday.
There have been 82 cases of the Zika virus in Florida, including 33 in Miami-Dade and 12 in Broward, according to the Center for Disease Control’s daily Zika update.
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Growing evidence suggests Zika is the cause of microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that leaves newborns with underdeveloped brains and unusually small heads. Twelve of those cases have been in Pennsylvania, and only two of those twelve were in Montgomery County. None of the Georgia travelers was pregnant.
