The mosquito-borne virus causes severe birth defects and continues to make inroads into Florida, the only state in the continental U.S.to report local transmission of the virus.
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The head of the government fight against the Zika virus said “we are now essentially out of money” and warned the country is “about to see a bunch of kids born with microcephaly” in the coming months.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced the latest Zika zone, a 1.5 square mile area in Miami Beach, on August 19. A Capitol Hill fight this summer stalled the Zika aid.
Of Florida’s 56 non-travel-related Zika cases, 11 are associated with Miami Beach. Health officials believe ongoing transmissions are only taking small areas in two communities, Wynwood and Miami Beach, in Miami-Dade County.
President Barack Obama in February requested $1.9 billion to battle Zika, but Republicans controlling Congress acted slowly on the request.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries Zika, is drawn toward containers filled with standing water, which is why the county is using the biological larvicide.
Zika can cause symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain and pinkeye.
Dozens of pregnant women in Florida have now been infected with the Zika virus. A New York Times report and a social media outcry over the specific event and its role in the ongoing plight of the honeybee, a species experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder at a rate that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is concerned about, added to the at-times confusing Zika news wave. “Zika is real, and while we don’t understand it fully, that is not a reason to dismiss its impact”, Curry said during a commission meeting Wednesday.
With the almost 60 cases of locally transmitted Zika in the Miami area, US health officials are urging women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to take health precautions.
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The CDC recommends women who are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant postpone travel to areas where there is widespread Zika infection.
