Mosquitoes have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus on the USA mainland for the first time, health officials said Friday in a long-feared turn in the epidemic that is sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean.
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So far, mosquitoes in Georgia have not bitten any of Georgia’s Zika patients and spread in that way.
There have been cases of Zika reported in Colorado, however those cases are attributed to people who have traveled outside the USA into Zika “hot zones” or who have had sexual contact with someone with the virus.
Nearly 5,000 cases of microcephaly have been recorded in regions affected by Zika since the epidemic began a year ago.
The confirmed Zika cases in Florida were likely caused by mosquito bites and were not tied to recent travel to other countries, health officials said.
The four Florida infections are thought to have occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the Wynwood arts district, Scott said.
Health officials said protection from mosquitoes is the key. Hopefully we can get prepared for it. “This means Florida has become the first state in our nation to have local transmission of the Zika virus”, Rick Scott said at a Friday press conference.
The four infected in Florida mark the first cases of people who contracted the virus without leaving the continental US.
Zika infection poses significant risks to pregnant women, because it can cause the birth defect called microcephaly, which results in babies born with undersized heads and underdeveloped brains.
“Puerto Rico is in the midst of a Zika epidemic”.
A Disney spokeswoman referred questions about its Zika preparedness to the CDC guidelines for preventing mosquito bites. A small proportion of Zika infections may also trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome, an illness that targets the nervous system, scientists say.
The cycle of infection inside a country can start when a blood-sucking mosquito bites a traveler who has returned from overseas with the virus in his or her bloodstream.
“This is not just a Florida issue”.
FIFTY-three cases of the terrifying Zika virus have now been reported in Britain, health experts have revealed. “They’ve been going door-to-door to reduce standing water”.
Mosquito Joe operates in both Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Public Health England updated its travel advice overnight after the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the United States mainland. There have been 29 cases reported in IL. “In fact, there may well be more cases that we’re not aware of right now because most people infected with Zika don’t have symptoms”, Frieden said.
If that’s the case, could we see the tropical mosquito make its way to Canada or B.C.in the near future?
“If you have recently returned from an area where Zika virus transmissions are now reported and have a fever or flu-like illness, seek medical attention without delay”.
CDC provides advice on building a Zika virus prevention kit for people who live in states that Zika is spread.
“Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy”, it says. “But if there’s good mosquito control, it doesn’t matter, you won’t get transmission”. (Mosquitos only need the amount of water in a bottle cap to breed.)2.
“We have planned for that potential”, Chris Kumnick with the Georgia Department of Public Health said Friday.
Frieden concurred. “The Aedes aegypti mosquito does not travel more than 150 meters in its lifetime, and often quite a bit less than that”, he said.
While the cases were not confirmed, as no insect trapped for testing has yet been proved to be carrying the disease, a statement from the Florida department of health said: “The department believes these [four] cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area”. The Zika virus can also be transmitted through sex.
The brings to four the number of such cases reported in the county.
The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where active Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas. State officials along with the women’s physicians are monitoring the pregnancies.
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The state activated a Zika information hotline for residents and visitors, and health officials have led public campaigns reminding people to wear repellent. However, Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought to battle the virus.
