The Florida Department of Health is investigating whether a case of Zika virus was contracted in Miami-Dade County.
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The mosquito species that carries Zika is not typically found in Utah, according to Dunn.
There have been 18 confirmed cases on St. Croix and 29 confirmed cases on St. Thomas, according to the Health Department report, which was issued just before midnight Wednesday.
The main type of mosquito that spreads the disease was spotted once near the southern Utah city of St. George in 2013, said Ary Faraji, manager of the Salt Lake City mosquito abatement district.
Also, the CDC and Utah health officials are working to investigate how an infected person whose relative died from Zika contracted the disease. The patient’s exact cause of death was not clear.
Until we know more, there’s definitely no need to panic, but the mystery serves as a reminder that there’s still a lot left for scientists to discover when it comes to Zika virus – and particularly in how the virus is able to spread.
The CDC said the Utah investigation will include interviews and laboratory testing of family members and health care workers who may have had contact with the deceased person, along with trapping local mosquitoes and assessing the risk of additional infections.
“We are a mobile society and people travel to areas where Zika may be prevalent, so we may see more cases in our community” Turner said.
There has yet to be a case of local transmission by mosquitoes in the continental United States, though more than 1,300 people in the country have reported infections after travelling to a Zika outbreak area.
The case brings the total number of confirmed cases of Zika infection in Utah to eight.
Florida has been closely monitoring the spread of the virus, stepping up its mosquito-borne illness surveillance and mosquito control efforts.
Signs of Zika have been found in blood, urine, semen and saliva.
The father was elderly and had another health condition, which was not identified, so the virus may have taken advantage of a weakened immune system to proliferate. The virus has been linked with a severe birth defect called microcephaly.
The Zika prevention kits are intended for pregnant women, officials said.
Congress left town last week without finalizing legislation to combat the virus, much to the dismay of public health officials, infectious disease experts and children’s advocates.
Men returning from those areas should abstain from sex or use condoms during all sexual activity, the Health Department advised.
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Zika having the potential to spread from person-to-person would change the game for epidemiologists in a big way.
