The state continues to aggressively combat the spread of Zika through mosquito control efforts but Friday’s Miami Herald raised the question; Is the pesticide they’re using as unsafe as the virus itself?
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While most people who contract Zika suffer no symptoms, the virus is considered to be particularly unsafe for pregnant women because it can cause birth defects including microcephaly – a condition in which infants are born with small heads.
More concerning: we’re now up to 21 cases of NON-travel-related Zika infections in South Florida – at least one of those in Palm Beach County. People are the ones who bring the virus to local mosquitoes-the insect will bite an infected person and then bite another individual. It’s the height of mosquito season, and cities like New Orleans, with hot, muggy conditions, are particularly vulnerable.
“The federal government must stop playing politics and Congress needs to immediately come back to session to resolve this”, Florida governor Rick Scott said in a statement Tuesday announcing the new cases. “Because it is likely we’re gonna hav”.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent Florida more than million in Zika-specific funding as well as about $27 million in emergency preparedness funds that can be used for Zika response.
A Monroe County resident is the latest in MI to test positive for the Zika virus. The county has been added to the Declaration of Public Health Emergency. Microcephaly is a birth defect where a child is born with an abnormally small brain and skull.
Miami-Dade uses an insecticide called naled to fight the spread of Zika.
The first known case of the Zika virus through sexual contact in the USA was reported earlier this year in Texas. Also, the risks for pregnant women and their babies can extend beyond the disease of microcephaly to many other ailments.
“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, said department secretary Sylvia Burwell, who travelled to the United States territory in late April to evaluate its response to the spread of the virus. Pregnant residents were urged to take extra steps to avoid mosquito bites. That includes 57 cases involving pregnant women.
US officials said they don’t expect to see a Zika epidemic in the United States similar to those in Latin America.
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Dr. Shaheen said it’s especially important with the large amounts of rain we’ve had the last few days to get out and drain any standing water that may have collected around your home.
