It’s possible there will be other cases of local transmission because people infected with the virus can potentially pass Zika onto a mosquito if they get bitten, which in turn can spread it to someone else.
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More than 1,600 Zika cases have been reported on the USA mainland, but previously all cases have been linked to travel to affected areas or sexual contact with an infected person.
Local health officials say the short answer is-yes.
Aedes aegypti is the mosquito responsible for the Florida cases.
“Now that we know it’s in the mosquito population it’s going to raise awareness”, said Findley.
But as the number of Zika cases grow in Alabama-could what happened in Florida, happen here? 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. Pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant should avoid travel to areas with Zika transmission.
There is a four-week time period of contracting the virus once exposed.
“For Zika to be transmitted you have to have the right type of mosquito”.
The West Nile technician with Cumberland County Public Safety said they’ve set up additional Zika traps in urban areas. However, no mosquitoes have yet tested positive for the virus. Of those, 55 involve pregnant women. “This is the window” to prevent a small-scale outbreak from spreading, said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who expressed impatience with the pace of the Florida investigation.
Zika causes only a mild illness in most people but the virus has been linked to severe brain defects in newborns.
Florida should be able to contain the virus to an isolated area because its neighborhoods have better sanitation and living conditions than countries where Zika outbreaks have been widespread, said Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner for agriculture and consumer services.
It’s official: Zika transmitted by local mosquitoes has arrived in the continental United States.
Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam said the state would continue its efforts to support mosquito control programs across Florida. The four Florida infections are thought to have occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the Wynwood arts district, the governor said.
The FDA previously advised USA blood banks to refuse donations from people who recently travelled to areas outside the country that have Zika outbreaks.
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According to Brian Foy, an associate professor with Colorado State University, Colorado’s dry climate acts as a natural defense against Zika carrying mosquitos, which thrive in more humid climates such as south Florida. He cautioned anyone feeling that they may have been exposed to the virus to contact the health department, and recommended that women pregnant or that could become pregnant receive the Zika Prevention kit from their OB/GYN.
