Officials say the teen isn’t pregnant and that they are working with her health care provider to follow virus guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The Zika virus can cause severe brain-related defects, including extremely small skulls. Pregnant women should either use condoms or other effective measures to reduce the risk of contracting infection through sex, or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
The 40 states and territories receiving the funding are: Alabama, New Hampshire, American Samoa, New Jersey, Arizona, New Mexico, California, New York, Connecticut, North Carolina, Florida, Northern Mariana, Georgia, Ohio, Guam, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Puerto Rico, Indiana, Rhode, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Maryland, Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia, Minnesota, Virgin Islands, Mississippi, West Virginia, Missouri and Wisconsin.
“We work closely with Florida to gather and analyse new information every day”, said Tom Freiden, CDC director.
Mosquito control experts said that’s no surprise to them, describing the Aedes aegypti mosquito as a “little ninja” capable of hiding in tiny crevices, sneaking up on people’s ankles, and breeding in just a bottle cap of standing water. In the United States, it is prevalent in the south and in particular, the south-east.
Since the first local transmissions of the virus were detected in four individuals in the Miami-Dade and Broward Counties at the end of July, there have been 15 home-grown cases confirmed in the state.
While the specific mosquito species known to spread Zika is not native to NY, a related species is present in downstate areas.
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Gabriel Jean, right, and his daughter, Rosemary LeBranch, left, walk into their home in the Wynwood area of Miami, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. According to the CDC, “Because approximately 80 percent of people infected with Zika do not have symptoms, the 672 pregnant women with evidence of Zika infection likely represent only a fraction of those who may be infected to date”. Officials have also stressed the importance of using strong insect repellent in Zika-affected regions.
