“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”, the governor said in a statement. The first is that, as the virus is spreading through such large populations, it is revealing aspects of Zika that went unnoticed in earlier outbreaks in remote and sparsely populated areas.
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Federal officials approved a new test to screen for Zika in blood donors, but Bush says it’s unclear when it would be ready for local use.
Last week, the state health department reported that a pregnant Missouri woman who had traveled to Honduras later tested positive for the Zika virus.
Vietnam reported its first cases of the Zika virus, health authorities said Tuesday. 107 imported cases of Zika have been confirmed among US travelers from January 2016 to February 24, 2016, including one New Jersey case.
Back from a Zika virus conference at the CDC, Pino said they are looking to increase their outreach to the Latino community in the state.
The virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which lives in tropical climates.
Mosquito trapping is conducted daily from June through October at 91 permanent locations throughout the state with two locations in Milford, according to the release. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
While the Zika virus usually causes mild symptoms, such as skin rashes and headaches, it is also suspected to cause abnormally small head sizes in newborn children, a condition called microcephaly, if mothers contract the virus during pregnancy.
Joanne Cono, MD, ScM of the CDC will discuss how health care providers can prepare as Zika comes to the mainland U.S. “Over 80 percent of people that do have it never come down with symptoms”, Decker says.
According to the CDC, she said, once a person has been exposed to Zika, it takes three to 14 days for the virus to incubate. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue.
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He was inspired to pursue Zika research after a meeting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in June 2015, where Brazilian scientists described accounts of a rise in birth defects related to a local Zika outbreak.
