(One case each was found in Palm Beach and Broward counties).
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Before the El Paso case, Texas reported 108 cases associated with travel to areas with active Zika transmission, Texas health officials said.
But on Thursday, the Times’ source told the newspaper that “a handful of cases” of possible local transmission, involving people in “close proximity to each other” occurred in Miami Beach, a prime tourist spot.
Mosquitoes who bite people infected with the virus can then carry it to the next person.
Women who visited the neighborhood of Wynwood, known for its trendy shops, eclectic bars and street art installations, since June 15 were warned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid getting pregnant for at least eight weeks. The case will be classified as “travel-associated” and is being investigated for more details.
There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which is primarily transmitted through the bite of the Aedes mosquito or through sexual activity. However, pregnant women and their unborn babies are most vulnerable because of Zika-linked birth defects like microcephaly, the condition where a newborn’s head is abnormally small because the brain developed partially. Health officials said pregnant women should not travel to Zika-affected areas.
“The CDC guidelines now include excluding the Windwood area of Miami from visitors travel plans”, Ericcson said. “But there are many things that are mosquito transmitted that are probably more relevant and more important in our population”. This year we also started testing for the Zika virus.
According to The New York Times, an unidentified health official with knowledge of the situation said Thursday that officials were mulling such an advisory. Over 10,000 tables are placed throughout the county on an annual basis. “In many ways we can control our destiny here by the public stepping up and dealing with standing water”. But he does have some further recommendations for local residents.
Matadha said that once every week, residents should eliminate or manage all sources of standing water to discourage mosquito breeding. During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in a person’s blood and can pass from an infected person to a mosquito through mosquito bites.
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The Middlesex County Office of Health Services and the Middlesex County Mosquito Extermination Commission have created community information boards, in both English and Spanish, that will be on display in municipal libraries through the rest of the summer.
