Just one day after the Florida Department of Health confirmed Pinellas County’s first locally transmitted Zika virus case, nine new travel-related incidents were reported across the Tampa Bay area.
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The agency had recommended in February that blood should no longer be collected from regions where the Zika virus is circulating, and that blood needed for transfusions be obtained from areas of the country without active transmission.
The unidentified woman is the first in the county to contract the virus, which occurs primarily through infected Aedes mosquitoes, specifically the yellow fever and Asian tiger mosquitoes, both of which now aren’t found in the county, according to Public Health officials. Two infants with Zika-related microcephaly have been born in California this year to women who had Zika virus infections during pregnancy after spending time in an area where the virus is circulating in mosquitoes, according to the CDPH. Details were not released about where in Pinellas the case was reported.
Meanwhile, foot traffic in Wynwood has dropped amid fears among customers who are fearful of getting the mosquito-borne virus, but business is slowly picking up.
According to an email sent to students at Georgia Southern University, the GSU Student Health Services was notified Wednesday of a positive case of Zika virus.
Zika is spread through mosquito bites and through sexual transmission from a man to his sexual partner. “Neighboring counties do. We have that vector of mosquito in Los Angeles County for instance”, said Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin. Travel-related cases stem from people bringing the disease into the state after being infected elsewhere. CDC’s Fort Collins laboratory is also testing specimens from pregnant women for the Florida Department of Health and is working with Florida on other possible support for Zika lab testing. There are also 120 tests still pending which could mean more cases of Zika in Pennsylvania.
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Four out of 5 people who get Zika do not show any of the common symptoms, which range from fever to rash to joint pain and red eyes. It can be devastating for pregnant women and lead to birth defects. There is no vaccine to prevent Zika. The Centers for Disease Control says pregnant women are advised to avoid non-essential travel to the impacted areas in Miami-Dade.
