The Florida Department of Health announced the first locally transmitted case of Zika outside Miami-Dade County Tuesday – and it’s in Pinellas County.
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Federal health officials warned pregnant women last week not to travel to Miami Beach after Florida confirmed the mosquito-borne Zika virus was active there, becoming the second area in Miami to be affected after Wynwood.
“Today, we learned that the Florida Department of Health (DOH) is investigating one new individual with non-travel related Zika in Pinellas County”, Scott said in a statement. According to the Florida Department of Health, the fifth was diagnosed in a Pinellas County resident who hasn’t traveled internationally.
It’s that last case that’s the most worrisome because it might signal that mosquitoes infected with the virus are spreading. Officials are working with Pinellas County Mosquito Control to provide “aggressive spraying and mosquito abatement efforts”, Scott said. The Zika virus is known to cause severe birth defects including microcephaly. “To date, there are approximately 60 other travel-related Zika cases throughout Georgia and no evidence of local transmission in Georgia”. So far, there are no active transmission areas in other Florida counties, or anywhere else in the mainland United States.
Zika is spread primarily by two types of the Aedes mosquito, a type common in the Lowcountry that can breed in as little as a bottle cap full of water.
These precautions include protecting oneself from mosquitos altogether by using insect repellant during and three weeks after travel, covering exposed skin, and avoiding bugs by staying indoors.
This comes as US health experts warn it’s possible that the virus could spread to other gulf states like Texas and Louisiana. None of those infected were pregnant women.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the Zika virus.
And on August 9, researchers in Brazil also reported on Zika’s possible links to serious deformities of joints in the arms and legs of newborns, a condition called arthrogryposis.
Scientists caution that even if the current Zika outbreak ends by itself, the virus will probably be reintroduced by travelers carrying it from places with full-fledged epidemics underway, such as Brazil or Puerto Rico, resulting in new clusters after summer weather and mosquito season returns. Mayor Rick Kriseman on Tuesday designated Dean Adamides, the division chief of emergency management in the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Department, to oversee the city’s response to the Zika threat. They also recommend that pregnant women wear repellent, long-sleeved clothing and engage in safe sex, as the virus can also be sexually transmitted.
Partners of pregnant women are advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.
There’s no indication the mosquito-borne disease could become a serious problem in Charleston, the state’s biggest global tourist destination.
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“What this tells you is that Zika is a devastating infection”.
