Lab tests confirmed that the person in the Miami area has the Zika virus, according to statements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Florida’s Department of Health.
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If investigators find that the patient contracted the virus through an infected mosquito within the mainland USA, it would be the first such case reported.
The plan suggests there should be two or more cases within a 1-mile area in people who do not live together, who did not have sex with Zika-infected people and who did not recently travel to countries with Zika outbreaks. Health officials say she may have spread the virus through vaginal fluid or menstrual blood.
According to the CDC there are over 1,300 cases of Zika in the United states and 346 cases of pregnant women with the virus. Health experts think mosquito transmission probably will occur in the USA, but the expectation is that it will be in low-elevation, sweltering places where the insect has been a steady problem – such as southern Florida or southern Texas.
While there have been over a thousand travel-related cases of Zika in the USA, there have only been a few cases of the virus being sexually transmitted and no known cases of the virus being transmitted in the U.S.by mosquitoes here. “This sounds as though this may be the first instance of that”.
Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the health department, said the Zika prevention kits were due to arrive Wednesday and will contain items recommended by the CDC, including bed nets, condoms and tablets that kill mosquito larvae in standing water.
“Our message is mostly for pregnant women”, Ralston said.
In most people, Zika causes only a mild and brief illness, at worst. That’s because, unlike in many countries where the virus has been spreading, the American lifestyle tends to limit exposure to the mosquitoes – people spend more time indoors here than people do in the South and Central American countries where the virus is now spreading.
“We’re doing quite a few things extra for Zika”, said Shelly Redovan with Lee County Mosquito Control.
The Utah case has baffled scientists, who previously believed the virus was typically spread through sexual transmission. Fix holes in screens to keep mosquitoes outside and use air conditioning.
With no treatment or vaccine available, the only protection against Zika is to avoid travel to Zika-affected areas. In other countries, the aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for carrying the virus, and transmitting it during its meal.
The Louisiana Department of Health has received confirmation of one additional case of Zika virus.
So far no mosquitos have tested positive in Lee County, but with a possible case of Zika acquired in Florida, concern has heightened.
But Zika can cause serious birth defects if a woman becomes infected while pregnant.
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CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden has said it’s a matter of when, not if, the virus will start spreading in parts of the U.S. It’s already at epidemic proportions in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and thousands of travelers have come to U.S. soil infected.
