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Two cases of Zika confirmed in Maui residents after overseas travel

Puerto Rico is expected to be hit hardest, because of a lack of mosquito control infrastructure.

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The declaration allows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to award grants, access emergency funds and temporarily appoint personnel where needed, among other things.

The U.S. recently declared the Zika virus outbreak in Puerto Rico to be a public health emergency, as the virus has infected more than 6,000 people, including more than 520 pregnant women.

The public health emergency declaration comes after Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases of the Zika virus over the last week.

The most interesting study result is that Americans planning to travel to Florida in the next few months were not fearing the Zika virus.

Florida Health officials said they believe active transmission is occurring only in a 10-block area of Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown Miami. The number of poor pregnancy outcomes grew to 2 in U.S. territories, as the CDC reported a baby born with Zika-related birth defects for the first time in a territory.

Zika was first detected in Brazil previous year, and has since spread rapidly through South America and the Caribbean. The virus is spread by mosquitoes and by infected people through sexual intercourse.

In the US, Zika has only been spread by mosquitos in Puerto Rico and in South Florida, due to those two locations tropical climates. Officials also hope the warning will alert locals to the threat of Zika virus disease and the need to take more precaution against mosquitos that carry the virus.

Why? It takes time for the effects of Zika to be noticable. The virus has also been known to cause other negative outcomes of pregnancy, like miscarriage and stillbirth, along with severe neurological concerns. 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.

Secretary Burwell declared the public health emergency under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act.

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Many people infected with the virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Thursday, the Obama administration announced it would be diverting $81 million from research and healthcare programs to find a Zika vaccine after a deadlocked Congress refused to approve new funding.

Melanie Bell 
 

 
The beach was filled with umbrellas from the Four Seasons Resort down to the Lake Worth Pier