The Ministry of Health is in the process of carrying out an assessment to determine if there are cases of a new condition linked to the mosquito borne Zika virus. Health officials now believe all Zika virus transmission is occurring within an area less than a square mile in northern Miami. DHS contracts with the UW-Madison Medical Entomology Laboratory to monitor and study mosquito populations. “Our mentality should not be a matter of if we will face a locally transmitted case, but rather when”, said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
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The following is a statement from Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino regarding yesterday’s announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it has added an area north of Downtown Miami, FL to its travel warning for Zika-affected areas. A third person in Palm Beach County has also tested positive for Zika. In all cases, the Zika infection was contracted during foreign travel.
The Zika Virus has seen its first case in Palm Beach County, and health officials are now left wondering how the disease has spread its wings in Florida.
Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that the Florida Department of Health has cleared another four blocks in the southwest corner of the designated zone in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Almost all of those cases were travel related, with only six cases stemming from a domestic mosquito bite.
Learn more about the CDC recommendation here.
In April, Governor Scott Walker approved the addition of nine project positions in DPH to help with the response and prevention of outbreaks, including Elizabethkingia anophelis and also in anticipation of the presence of Zika. The baby passed away shortly after birth and is the first Zika-related death reported in Texas.
The ongoing Zika outbreak was first detected past year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly.
Although rare, there have been reports that Zika virus can be spread through blood transfusion, sexual contact and laboratory exposure.
Kids returning to school in a Miami neighborhood linked to Zika infections will be allowed to wear trousers and long-sleeved shirts that don’t match their school uniforms, but still can’t bring mosquito repellent to campus.
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Symptoms include rashes, mild fever, muscle and joint pains, head aches or red eyes. While the illness typically resolves within a week, some severe cases may require hospitalization.
