The Florida Department of Health, in a written statement Thursday, said it was continuing to investigate both cases with help from the federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
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More than 1,300 Zika infections have been reported in the US, none involving bites from local mosquitoes; 14 of these were sexually transmitted and one lab worker was stuck with a contaminated needle.
In addition to sexual contact, the virus is spread through specific species of mosquitoes.
An edes aegypti mosquito.
“We remain concerned about the growing number of pregnant New Yorkers who are still traveling to Zika-affected areas”, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio said in a health department news release.
There have been more than 1,400 confirmed Zika cases in the United States, but so far all of them have been contracted through travel overseas – either by a mosquito bite or by sexual intercourse with someone who had traveled to a Zika-infected area.
Health officials predicted the virus would reach USA mosquitoes this summer and have mobilized to keep Zika from spreading beyond isolated clusters of cases. Because it can cause birth defects including microcephaly, Zika is even more worrying.
But the virus is unsafe to pregnant women because it’s been linked to microcephaly and other fetal brain defects. Nineteen of those cases were newly reported Friday in the state’s daily Zika update.
As of July 15th, 2,000 pregnant women in NYC have been tested for Zika, and 41 have gotten positive test results. “These CDC funds will strengthen state and territorial capacity to respond to Zika virus, an increasingly concerning public health threat”.
The deceased patient reportedly traveled outside the country where Zika cases are high and apparently caught the virus there. A weblink about Zika travel information, wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information, is found on that site. The Aedes aegypti mosquito has been the main driver of the Zika virus outbreak to date, but Aedes albopictus can also transmit the disease.
The CDC recommends pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.
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The CDC has come up with almost $60 million to divide between states and territories for local Zika efforts, but its officials also stressed that more money is crucial to expand mosquito-control efforts, improve the ability to quickly diagnose Zika and develop a vaccine.
