“We’re going to keep everybody safe”, he went on, “we’re going to work hard to make sure everybody that needs a test gets a test”.
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Putnam said Florida is in better position to fight the virus than other areas impacted by Zika due to better infrastructure that includes air conditioned buildings, unblemished screens, sanitation requirements and local mosquito control agencies. “The conditions are there for transmission”.
The number of Zika cases has been creeping upward for months, with state health officials dutifully releasing the count of new travel related infections every day.
“The CDC ban on travel in the continental United States is limited to two neighborhoods in the Miami area”, said Andy Stafford, Medical Director for Women’s Health in Bloomington, Bedford and Martinsville for IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians.
So far, 15 people have been infected with Zika after being bitten by mosquitoes in Florida.
Until recently, all cases of the virus have been found only in people who have traveled outside the US or transmitted the virus through sexual contact.
Most people aren’t sickened by the virus, but there have been reports of microcephaly, a serious birth defect, and other severe health consequences. Recently, mayor of Miami-Dade County announced that officials will survey regions in the north of downtown Miami. Zika can also be spread by men to their sex partners and by pregnant women to their fetuses. “You can not avoid them”.
Visitors to Florida are being asked to check in advance the type of precautions they should take, such as insect repellent.
Rupp called Zika a matter of “ongoing concern”.
“People are anxious about the mosquitoes in their backyard”, Holcombe said.
“A CDC travel advisory was sent out at 4 p.m.” on Monday for Wynwood, said Anderson.
On an individual basis, residents are encouraged to use mosquito repellent, wear long sleeves and empty any pools of standing water, even in small containers such as pet bowls.
For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention.
Pregnant women who are concerned will be able to get a free virus screening at their county’s health department.
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Monika Gehner, of the World Health Organisation, told IBTimes UK that everyone must adhere to protection measures to avoid mosquito bites.
