The baby born with a serious malformation of the brain due to Zika died in Texas, the first death from the virus in the state of the southern United States, according to health officials Tuesday.
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Scott, Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip held a conference call with the state’s superintendents Thursday afternoon, to update them on the state’s Zika response and encourage them to develop working relationships with their local health departments.
Some 4,000 students attend six schools in the Wynwood arts district where health officials say 22 people have contracted Zika, a mosquito-borne virus. “While this is a travel-associated case, we know that prevention is key to reducing the risk of Zika virus infection”. Health officials now believe all Zika virus transmission is occurring within an area less than a square mile in northern Miami. That’s in addition to more than $1 million in grant funds from the CDC to address Zika concerns. The health department has also advised people who have traveled to Wynwood since 15 June to put off getting pregnant for a while.
The primary mosquito that transmits the virus is found in the tropics and the southern U.S. Burwell traveled to the US territory in late April to evaluate its response to the outbreak.
The mosquitoes have a short travel range, and Florida officials are describing the infections as a “small case cluster” that do not indicate widespread transmission.
The statement came at the request of Alejandro García Padilla, governor of the US commonwealth, where the Zika virus is spreading rapidly, threatening hundreds of pregnant women and their unborn babies and women of childbearing age. The CDC says this type of mosquito is an aggressive day biter, but also known to bite at night. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. has been warning pregnant women to avoid the area in and around Miami.
According to the Wall Street Journal, 17 of the patients with locally transmitted Zika are men. Roughly one in five people infected with Zika experience symptoms.
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In July, Florida confirmed that the mostly mosquito borne virus had been transmitted locally on the USA mainland for the first time.
