Officials said that the person with Zika in Pinellas, which includes the city of St. Petersburg, had not traveled internationally but that investigators are looking into the possibility that the virus may have been acquired in a neighboring county. It’s also the only USA state that has reported local Zika transmission by mosquitoes so far. The Florida Department of Health has begun door-to-door outreach and sampling in Pinellas County, along with mosquito abatement and reduction efforts.
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Gov. Rick Scott met with the Florida Department of Health, Pinellas Department of Health, Pinellas Mosquito Control and other officials.
If confirmed to be transmitted through a mosquito, the state will likely identify a small portion of Pinellas County where the virus is believed to have been stirred.
Dr. Khan said while zika won’t be an epidemic in the US, precautions to prevent the disease here still needs to be taken. The DOH said more details about the Pinellas County case will be given when their investigation concludes. Women who are interested receiving a free Zika test or a Zika prevention kit can contact the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County. The mosquito is a vector for the proliferation of the Zika virus now spreading throughout Latin America.
At a roundtable meeting in the De Hostos Senior Center in Wynwood, Scott said the state is “working hard” to fight the virus and provide the resources it can.
However, he says when people don’t know they’re carriers, they could infect other people through activities like sex.
The Gulf Coast states like Texas and Louisiana are the most susceptible to Zika outbreak, a National Institute of Health (NIH) official said. Though the Zika virus has primarily been a concern for pregnant women – Zika is known to cause birth defects – a new study suggests that the virus may attack adult brain cells as well.
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Women and men who live in or frequently travel to this area and who do not have signs or symptoms of Zika should talk to their health care provider to inform their decisions about the timing of pregnancy.
