Florida’s governor today announced five more locally acquired Zika cases, one of them in Pinellas County, the state’s first non-travel-related case reported outside of South Florida.
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“This person did not travel to an infected area with Zika; we are looking at a number of locations”, Gov. Rick Scott said at a roundtable in Pinellas county Tuesday. The first USA hot zone for locally ransmitted cases of Zika was identified in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, in late July.
Scott also said in Tuesday’s announcement that mosquito-control and public-education efforts have allowed the state to “clear” areas of Wynwood where active transmissions are not believed to be occurring.
Meanwhile Mayor Levine said Miami Beach workers are doing everything in their power to go after mosquitoes in the popular tourist destination.
Local mosquito transmission of Zika virus infection has been reported on the island of New Providence in The Bahamas (which includes the city of Nassau).
There are now 42 local cases of Zika in Florida, with 494 travel-related infections.
The Zika virus is typically transmitted via mosquitoes and can cause a transient illness. Though the Zika virus has primarily been a concern for pregnant women – Zika is known to cause birth defects – a new study suggests that the virus may attack adult brain cells as well. “Any pregnant woman who would like to receive a free Zika test or a Zika prevention kit should contact the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County”.
“We sent the state of Florida more than $35 million for Zika and other emergencies”.
“One case does not mean active transmission is taking place”, FDOH spokeswoman Sarah Revell explained.
Fauci said mosquito control is the best way to stop the spread of the Zika virus.
CT has received more than $1.3 million in federal grants to combat Zika including help to monitor infants who may be affected by the Zika virus.
While many researchers have performed retrospective analyses of Zika infection outcomes using data from Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, none to date have involved prospective cohorts.
The condition was observed by CDC researchers who are following more than 1,200 Zika-affected pregnancies in Brazil, said Ted Pestorius of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, who is an assistant incident manager for the CDC’s Zika response.
Symptoms of Zika virus include fever, rash and joint pain but the real risk is to pregnant woman.
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Travel experts say families anxious about Zika are now looking to Arizona and Southern California to get some sun, along with cooler weather locales such as New England and Canada.
