Public Health England is advising pregnant women to consider postponing any non-essential trips to Florida, amid concerns over the Zika virus.
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The first four documented cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus occurred in the continental USA, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Friday.
PHE said the risk in Florida is moderate, while in many countries in South America, including Olympics host Brazil, it remains high. While most people who get Zika don’t even know they are sick, infection during pregnancy can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including disastrously small heads.
Health officials have been predicting the virus would appear in the U.S. Zika is spread when a certain type of mosquito bites an infected person and then transfers the virus to another person with another bite.
Governor Rick Scott said the state believed active transmission of the virus was occurring within an area of the city about the size of a square mile (2.6 square kms).
“This morning we learned that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite”.
All previous cases of Zika transmission confirmed in Florida were contracted out of the country during travel or were transmitted sexually, according to state health officials. “We anticipate that there may be additional cases of “homegrown” Zika in the coming weeks”.
Following the news, the United Kingdom issued a travel warning, urging pregnant citizens to postpone their travel to Florida.
Still, if you’re planning to be pregnant in Florida, there’s no time like the present to invest in some effective mosquito repellant. That could change if new cases are identified.
Zika virus has been reported in Africa and parts of Asia since the 1950s, and in the southwestern Pacific Ocean since 2007.
The FDA previously advised USA blood banks to refuse donations from people who recently traveled to areas outside the country that have Zika outbreaks.
“There is no specific treatment for Zika and it usually wears off naturally after two to seven days”.
He said that there are probably more cases that have not been diagnosed, and that people should not be surprised if mosquitoes are soon found to be spreading Zika in Louisiana and Texas as well.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told blood centers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to suspend collections until they can screen each unit of blood for the Zika virus with authorized tests.
