The same day that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning over the Zika outbreak in a Miami neighborhood, some local residents and visitors seemed unfazed by the news, or even completely ignorant of the virus.
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Health officials are concerned about mosquito spread of the Zika virus in South Florida. Mosquito control is now spraying the area to reduce the mosquito population further and the investigation into the outbreak is ongoing. Of those infected, 12 are men and two are women.
On 1 August, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that 14 people in the USA state are believed to have contracted the Zika virus – 12 men and two women. The reason: better insect control as well as window screens and air conditioning that should help curtail any outbreaks.
While infection with the Zika virus is harmless to most people, it can cause bad birth defects – particularly microcephaly, which results in babies born with small heads and underdeveloped brains. Crews began spraying the one square mile north of Miami with active transmissions, trying to prevent the virus from spreading.
The CDC’s official guidance warns travelers to avoid the Wynwood arts district in the northern part of Miami.
They also recommend any pregnant woman who has traveled to the area or has reason to believe they make have been exposed the to Zika virus to consult their doctor and get tested right away.
A majority of people infected with Zika virus do not show any symptoms or are asymptomatic, but others develop rash, fever, body aches, and redness of eyes, which usually appear about three to seven days after the mosquito bite. Both types of mosquitoes are found in Virginia during mosquito season (May 1 through October 31).
“It is critical to identify infants affected by Zika so we can support them and their families”, said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
More than 1,650 people in the mainland US have contracted the virus in recent months, almost all while traveling in other countries.
The Lee and Collier mosquito control agencies have already increased their trapping and testing efforts and so far haven’t found any mosquitoes with the virus.
But he also said there aren’t enough of the disease-transmitting mosquitoes living in and around houses to cause long-term or widespread outbreaks in this country.
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It’s believed mosquitoes in the area are transmitting Zika virus directly to humans.
