Florida’s Department of Health believes the mosquitos that transmitted the virus are active in a small area just north of downtown Miami, Scott said at a news conference in Orlando.
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“This mosquito only travels 150 yards, so when it is detected it has a very local range of where we would go in and do mosquito abatement”, Murphy said. Until now, most Zika cases reported in the us have been in people who had traveled to or lived in a Zika-affected country.
The United States has documented 1,657 cases of travel-related Zika in the past year, including 433 involving pregnant women, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
People in Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties are being tested to learn whether there are more cases, the governor said.
Doctor Leana Wen, Health Commissioner of Baltimore City, said there are several groups surveying mosquitos and people who return to Maryland after traveling to infected areas. Most countries in the Americas are expected to develop cases of the virus, which is transmitted via mosquito bite, or through other means including laboratory exposure, blood transfusions, or sexual or in-utero transmission.
Zika causes only a mild illness in most people but the virus has been linked to severe brain defects in newborns. So far, Florida has documented 381 cases statewide.
Health officials say they are monitoring the outbreak.
UT Health Northeast Chief of Infectious diseases Richard Wallace say pregnant women, those trying to get pregnant and their partners are at the highest risk and need to be well-informed.
“This just heightens the importance of us making sure that individuals know what steps they can take to prevent themselves from getting the virus to prevent themselves from getting the virus”, Murthy explained. “But we can do the best job that we are prepared for and the best job we know how to do”, said Mathis.
“Yes sooner of later it was going to be transmitted by mosquito”, Gardner said. The infected people had not traveled to other Zika-affected areas, and did not have sex with Zika-infected partners, which leaves mosquitoes as the likely culprits.
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Because Florida sprays for mosquitoes near the residence of anyone identified as having Zika, even those who acquired it overseas, the state has been spraying in Wynwood for several weeks. Congress has not yet approved the $1.9 billion in funding President Obama requested to help combat the Zika virus, which puts the situation in a bit of limbo.
