Health officials say that time period could determine whether the Zika virus can reach the local mosquito population.
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Scott promised in a statement Wednesday to “aggressively fight against the Zika virus”. That count includes three pregnant women, one infant infected before birth and one person who had sexual contact with a traveler.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who has steadily blamed the Obama administration for not responding swiftly enough to the growing threat, also reiterated that the Florida Health Department is offering Zika testing to pregnant women at all county health departments at no cost.
“As a woman, I feel like we have a little bit more at stake”, said Darya Chelene Dasha. To ensure that Zika tests are processed as quickly as possible, DOH will make available additional lab services to handle the expected increase in tests being administered.
“At this point, we are not telling women that there is a safe trimester”, said Dr. Christine Curry of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, and Ardente’s OBGYN.
Authorities sought to quell any concerns about safety from the chemical when sprayed appropriately, noting Naled has always been used in controlling mosquitoes in Miami-Dade County and around Florida. “They need to be a partner in this”.
All of the cases reported as of Friday were contracted overseas. But experts cautioned that many questions about the virus remain. Doctors say it’s been hard to explain that the disease has multiple modes of transmission.
The national health agency also recommended women to delay pregnancy for eight weeks after leaving the area.
A news release from the CDC said it awarded more than $16 million to the states and territories to establish, enhance, and maintain information-gathering systems to rapidly detect microcephaly and other adverse outcomes caused by the Zika virus.
The plan is asking anyone who has recently traveled to the sunshine state to hold off from giving blood for 28 days.
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Almost 5,000 babies with microcephaly have been recorded in affected regions since the Zika epidemic began in 2015. “We don’t yet know a ton about the long term immunity for this disease”.
