The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an advisory that says pregnant women should not travel to the so-called Zika transmission area in Florida and pregnant women who live there should take steps to prevent mosquito bites and sexual spread of the virus.
Advertisement
Blood donation in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties was temporarily suspended last week as the region’s leading blood provider, OneBlood, began implementing its response to possible mosquito-borne Zika Virus transmission.
All cases of Zika in New Yorkers have been the result of travel to southern states or other countries, said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
There are more than a dozen Zika cases in Tennessee, including one in Knox County that was reported a month ago.
They will also make mosquito dunks available, which are briquettes that contain environmentally safe mosquitocides that can be placed in standing water.
All cases of the Zika virus is Tennessee have all been travel related.
Texas Medicaid will cover the cost of mosquito repellent for women who are between the ages of 10 and 45 or pregnant, HHS Executive Commissioner Charles Smith announced Wednesday. That money will be used for Zika testing and mosquito surveillance efforts.
Advertisement
Ten pregnant women have tested positive, a concern for authorities because Zika has been linked to severe birth defects. “We see that type of phenomenon when anything new comes to light as far as any outbreaks”, said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Kansas Hospital.
