The Shawnee County Health Department has confirmed someone has tested positive for the zika virus and giving tips to the public on how to protect yourself from the virus. One case was confirmed in each Okaloosa and Orange counties, as well.
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She is the first Zika virus positive among 127 people tested this year for manifesting symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease.
Health officials have sprayed pesticide and larvicide on the ground in areas where they believe the mosquitoes may be, and are expanding those efforts with the aerial use of Naled.
Discussions of developmental screening, clinical management and family support approaches can help clinicians serving pregnant women, infants and children, increasing access to well-coordinated, family-centered care in a medical home for children and families impacted by Zika-related complications.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which has declared Zika an worldwide health emergency, says more research is needed to determine the effects of the different Zika strains.
So far, there have been 56 local transmissions of the Zika virus in Florida, which has 20.6 million residents. There have been 43 cases of locally-acquired infection in the Miami area.
But health officials said the investigations have not identified additional “active transmission” zones. The two localized mosquito-borne outbreaks in Miami are “quite hard to control”, Frieden said, adding that the type of mosquitoes that spread Zika “are the cockroach of mosquitoes”.
“It’s hard to think of much that’s less glamorous than looking for stagnant water, which is what mosquito abatement district people do”, he said. There’s a high risk that Zika could start circulating in cities like New Orleans or Houston, experts say.
Fellow Washington University researcher, Dr Jonathan Miner, highlighted that the virus may also be spreading through tears or other bodily fluids. He wants Congress to pass a funding bill that addresses only combating the Zika virus, developing a vaccine and mosquito control containment and eradication. In the meantime, the prospect of Zika outbreaks continues to loom.
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The WHO also said it was likely that the Zika virus could trigger the Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take years.
