A billboard reading ‘You have a guest…’ and featuring a picture of a mosquito as part of a campaign to fight against the Zika virus in Les Trois-Ilets, in the French overseas department of Martinique.
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“If we detect populations or if the Department of Health identifies infected individuals, we will literally have to go house to house, yard to yard within a 150-200 yard radius”, he says. “Get rid of anything that has standing water”.
“There must be enhanced surveillance efforts that focus on educating all returning travelers from affected countries to prevent mosquito bites in the week following their return”, she says.
“This is necessary to protect the public health”, Cava said. An artificial mosquito breeding ground could be a tire, bucket or any container capable of collecting water and containing five or more larvae.
The proposed amendment would shorten the time to two days before Miami-Dade workers can act.
Australia captain Steven Smith and his team have been warned about risks associated with the Zika virus ahead of their tour of the West Indies next month.
Scientists are running against time to avoid a global health crisis as the Zika virus is spreading fast with nearly a third of countries in the world having been infected with the virus.
Meanwhile, according to the European Centers for Disease Controle, there is now a scientific consensus that the Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Almost 472 Zika virus cases have already been confirmed in the continental United States, with 84 new cases taking place over the past week. Martinique has registered a total of 205 pregnant women with laboratory confirmed Zika virus disease.
Standard mosquito precautions for Zika virus include wearing long sleeves and trousers, using insect repellent and closing windows and doors to keep out the day-biting mosquitoes.
“We’ve been able to control those outbreaks here in Miami-Dade County”, he said, “and we want to make sure we continue to do the same thing here in this case with Zika”.
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Counties of pregnant women are not disclosed.
