State Senator Adriano Espaillat said, “It is completely unacceptable for companies to deceive their customers, and it is particularly heinous when their deception could negatively impact the public’s health”.
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With federal funding to fight Zika stuck in Congress, and amid news that mosquito-to-human transmission of the virus has reached the continental United States, Texas officials announced on Wednesday they would allow Medicaid to pay for mosquito repellent for women, in the hopes of preventing the disease. Roberts explained the elevated risk to pregnant women and babies from a public health perspective.
As of Tuesday, 15 people in Florida had been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes, putting Texas officials on high alert that Texas mosquitoes could start carrying the virus.
Schneiderman said the products include wristbands, patches and ultrasound devices that “plug into your wall and supposedly it gets rid of mosquitoes, rodents and I don’t know what else – gamma rays coming from Martians”. Pants, sleeves, and mosquito nets are also effective.
“It’s the flawless mix – local transmission in Florida, travel to Brazil, and we’re at the height of mosquito season in Texas”, said Dr. John Hellerstedt, Texas DSHS commissioner in a news release. The mosquitoes were fed blood containing the Zika virus, either from an infected mouse or with blood cells mixed with cell culture-derived virus.
Some of the most common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain and red, itchy eyes.
Pregnant women are most at risk because the virus can cause microcephaly – a birth defect characterized by stunted brain development.
Health officials say people in Zika-affected areas should take steps to avoid getting or spreading the disease by wearing long trousers and long-sleeved shirts and using insect repellent. “This proves that our product does repel mosquitos and insects”.
Now there is no vaccine or treatment for the Zika virus.
“It is recommended that pregnant women simply do not travel to areas where there is ongoing transmission of Zika virus”. These areas can be found on the CDC’s website.
Some clothing companies are touting their bug-repellent-treated apparel lines.
DALLAS (AP) _ Texas Medicaid will begin providing mosquito repellent to all expectant mothers and women between the ages of 10 and 45, as public health officials grapple with the likelihood that Texas will see at least some local transmissions of the Zika virus.
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Out of 500,000 expected travelers to Rio for the Olympic Games, only a maximum of 37 people are predicted to contract Zika and return home while still contagious, said study co-author Gregg Gonsalves, a lecturer at Yale Law School and co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership.
