Florida officials have informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, that Zika virus infections in four people were likely caused by bites of local Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
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If the infections are caused by mosquitoes, it will be the first documented case of local transmission of the virus in the United States.
In a notice sent to blood centers and posted on the agency’s website Wednesday evening, the FDA said it is requesting all blood centers in Miami-Dade or Broward counties to “cease collecting blood immediately” until those facilities can test individual units of blood donated in those two counties with a special investigational donor screening test for Zika virus or until the establishments implement the use of an approved or investigational pathogen-inactivation technology. “There are hundreds of species, they are not all present in the states and provinces”.
Osceola County mosquito control officials have been talking with independent and mom-and-pop hotels near Disney that may not contract pest control like national hotel chains.
People in the impacted area have been advised to contact their county health department if they want to be tested.
Dr. Muhammad Morshed with the BC Centre for Disease Control says he anticipates more travel related Zika cases in BC but he doesn’t expect homegrown cases.
A total of 53 people have been treated in the United Kingdom for the infection.
“The department will share more details as they become available”.
The current outbreak was first detected in Brazil a year ago and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.
“It’s what we feared”, he said in an interview.
The reason behind the intense focus on such a small area has to do with the insect that spreads Zika. “That’s a totally different situation”, he said.
The virus causes a mild illness in most people but the risks are greater with pregnant women. But some Miami residents said Friday they were stocking up on mosquito repellent and planning to bring lunches to work instead of sitting at outdoor cafe tables under Wynwood’s bright murals.
“This is not just a Florida issue”. OneBlood said on its website Friday that all blood collections in the areas it serves in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and SC will be tested for Zika. “We’re just the front of it”. “Floridians can do their part by draining standing water surrounding their homes, as it can serve as breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that are capable of transmitting the virus”. The Zika cases in Florida come at a time when tourists from around the world are visiting the Sunshine State’s theme parks, beaches and urban arts districts.
These cases include 15 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure.
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But, he said, “If we were to see cases in this area in people infected after the mosquito control efforts were undertaken, this would be a concern and warrant further advice and action”.
