President Barack Obama’s administration declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico on Friday in response to the growing number of Zika virus cases that pose a “significant threat to public health”, especially to pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
Advertisement
Puerto Rico governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said he had asked government officials to declare a public health emergency and thanked them for their support.
In the past 48 hours, U.S. health officials have declared a public health state of emergency in Puerto Rico where the number of Zika virus infections have doubled to more than 10,000 in the past three months.
Dr Knight said the first individual confirmed with an imported case of the disease was pregnant, but was advanced in her pregnancy and therefore the potential for a birth with microcephaly was not expected.
“This Administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, Secretary Burwell said in the statement.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy paid a visit to South Florida on Friday, speaking with pregnant women and their partners about Zika prevention and providing an update on federal prevention efforts.
A Sarasota County resident contracted the Zika virus while traveling, marking the first local case of the infection, the Florida Department of Health announced today. While the virus generally causes mild symptoms in adults – and only about 20 percent even have symptoms at all – Zika’s connection to a host of different congenital birth defects makes it particularly unsafe for women who are pregnant or wish to become pregnant. “Panic typically doesn’t help the situation no matter what the threat is, but we just urge people to be on high alert and make sure they’re doing their best to prevent mosquito bites, to make sure they’re walking their property line and checking for standing water and places that mosquitoes can breed”.
The Zika virus is spread to people primarily through the bites of infected mosquitoes; however, the virus has also been found to be transmitted sexually.
Williams County in northwest OH and Monroe County in southeast MI both have reported their first cases of travel-related Zika virus. Evidence suggests that Zika can also be transmitted through sexual contact.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning for pregnant women to avoid this area of Miami.
Microcephaly and other fetal brain defects have been linked to the Zika virus, making the virus most concerning for pregnant women.
Advertisement
In light of the Summer Olympics, the WHO said Brazil is providing Zika virus test kits, made available by the local authorities, at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Rio de Janeiro.
