USA health officials recently reported a total of 1,306 cases of Zika in the continental United States and Hawaii.
Advertisement
If the cases are confirmed, they would be the first times a person has been infected with the virus by a mosquito in the continental United States.
According to the CDC, there have been 12 cases of Zika-related microcephaly in the US, and there have been 400 lab-confirmed cases of pregnant women with Zika, out of a total of 1,400 confirmed cases overall.
Intensifying areas of concern for Florida health officials, on Thursday, scientists in Brazil announced they had identified the virus in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes, another mosquito that is common in Florida.
A second case of Zika virus in South Florida is being called into question because the person who contracted it hasn’t traveled overseas, ramping up concerns mosquitoes here may be infected.
While the infection’s spread is centered in South and Central America and the Caribbean, 12 children have been born with Zika-related birth defects nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None of those cases is a result of local mosquito transmission. Of the 309 cases of Zinka confirmed in New York City, nearly all were acquired by a mosquito bite while traveling overseas, 36 were pregnant women, and 3 cases were sexually transmitted. More than 1,400 cases have been reported nationwide, including 400 in pregnant women.
When the new testing goes into effect, the hospitals that want Zika-screened products will request what they need on an on-demand basis, Reik said. However, Fiocruz chairman Paulo Gadelha said he is still cautious about the findings since another study of Zika virus presence in Culex mosquitoes made in Rio de Janeiro has not indicated contamination so far.
“Local, state and territorial health departments are on the front lines in the fight against Zika”, said Tom Frieden, director of CDC. Partners of pregnant women are advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.
The Health Department reported the first infant delivered with Zika-related microcephaly in New York City Thursday. Zika is not known to be circulating in the mosquito population in Kentucky.
Advertisement
The CDC recommends pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.
