Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika Forest in Uganda.
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“The next step is to differentiate what findings are related to the Zika virus itself versus microcephaly caused by the virus in order to better understand which infants will need screening”, the author added.
The Senate struck a bipartisan deal that offers $1.1 billion emergency spending that isn’t offset with budget cuts elsewhere, while the House passed a bill that would take $622 million from the Ebola fight in West Africa and other health programs to deal with the mosquito-borne illness.
“I wouldn’t say it’s going to be a concern for us this year”, Findley said. There have been a few cases in the United States but health experts warn that the next season could lead to more infections. According to the latest report from the Department of health, officials have confirmed 122 Zika cases in Florida that do not involve pregnant women.
There are now 591 cases of the Zika virus confirmed in the continental U.S.as well as another 939 in American territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And it also only looked at microcephaly specifically.
“We’re trying to hold down the fort here”, she said. In these places, it was found that genetically altered mosquitoes have lessened the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes 90%.
They can breed with just an inch of water, and any objects that can collect water can create conditions for them reproduce, even just scraps of trash found outside.
Federal health officials are not expecting widespread transmission in the U.S, but they are advising everyone to protect against mosquitoes, especially as the weather warms up across the county.
There is no vaccine to prevent Zika.
But based on other data from Bahia and from two earlier Zika outbreaks, they could make calculations that accounted for different scenarios – including one which assumed most people were infected and another in which Zika infections were less common. We already know that the Zika virus can cause microcephaly and developmental disabilities in babies whose mothers were pregnant when they contracted the virus.
“The CDC has indicated that given the risk and if it is done safely and no more than 30 percent and if you wear long sleeves, socks, pants, etc. and you put it over that, not directly on the skin, it’s OK”, Stagno said.
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Dr. David Schell says there is no reason to panic at this point, because the type of mosquito that’s most likely to carry the virus isn’t in our area.
