That brings the number of Florida cases to nine total, none of them in pregnant women.
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“Today I am directing Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong to declare a public health emergency in the four counties that have individuals with the Zika virus”, Scott said in a statement Wednesday. Scientists say the hotter it gets, the better the mosquito that carries Zika virus is at transmitting a variety of risky illnesses. The Aedes aegypti mosquito that is the primary vector of Zika virus infections is present in the southeast portion of the country, including Florida, though in winter the mosquito populations are low. New figures from Brazil’s Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed cases of a rare brain defect as first feared. World Health Organization has declared the crisis a global emergency.
Brazil has been hit the hardest by this outbreak, so far more than 4,000 babies have been born with birth defects that health officials are linking to the Zika Virus. The virus is spread through mosquito bites.
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials. There was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man’s semen in Tahiti.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Zika virus patient being treated in Dallas was not infected by a mosquito bite. The order also authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to take action in the four counties regarding mosquitos – especially in residential areas.
The US has had more than 30 cases reported, but they’ve been among travelers to the more than 20 affected countries in Central and South America.
The WHO has not recommended travel or trade bans with affected countries, but says that it is drawing up advice to pregnant women. Illness typically resolves within a week.
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As Saeed’s team works to find a treatment or cure, Alabama health leaders said pregnant women should travel to Zika hot zones. Zika appears to be particularly risky for pregnant women.
