As the number of locally acquired cases of the Zika virus in Florida continues to rise, state health officials have cleared an additional four blocks in the so-called “Zika zone” north of downtown Miami.
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The only other confirmed Zika-related death in the USA was that of an elderly Utah man who died in June. But it can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads, if women are infected during pregnancy.
On Monday, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, reported that some babies infected with the Zika virus in the womb, have development arthrogryposis – a rare birth defect involving muscle weakness and stiff joints. It’s the height of mosquito season, and cities like New Orleans, with hot, muggy conditions, are particularly vulnerable. “Because it is likely we’re gonna hav”. According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus.
Business owners in Miami’s Wynwood arts district say they’ve been losing money since local Zika infections were announced, and they’re asking government officials for help.
California has had two infants born recently with Zika-related microcephaly after their mothers contacted the virus while overseas, according to the California Department of Public Health.
As of July 29, CDPH has confirmed 114 travel-associated Zika virus infections in 22 counties.
A study published last month found the virus in the semen of a 27-year-old man 93 days after he was infected. At the end of June, a $1.9 billion funding bill to combat the spread of the virus failed in Congress, after Democrats voted it down over Republican-added riders that would have also restricted Planned Parenthood and allowed the Confederate flag at veterans cemeteries.
Officials are urging people to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
Aerial spraying of pesticides targeting adult mosquitoes is scheduled Friday over Wynwood as well as surrounding areas, and tablets of larvae-eating bacteria are being dropped into storm drains throughout Miami-Dade County just in case. Since then no microcephaly cases have been reported, but federal officials say it is only a matter of time. DSHS is tracking the number of pregnant women with Zika in the state, working with providers and reporting weekly data to the national Zika pregnancy registry. Frieden directs the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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This Q & A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
