Better building construction, more extensive use of air conditioning and window screens, wider use of bug repellant and broader mosquito control measures will help control the spread of Zika by mosquitoes in the USA, experts believe.
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Lab tests confirmed the Zika infection, according to statements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Florida’s Department of Health.
New York City health-care providers have administered Zika tests to 2,000 pregnant women who have traveled to areas affected by the virus.
All cases reported as of this date in the US have been associated with travel to a Zika-affected area.
These infections are thought to have occurred because the patients’ partners had traveled to countries where Zika is circulating, the CDC said. CDC has additional information online on how travelers can protect themselves and their family members from mosquito bites at www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/index.html.
Florida’s Department of Health is investigating one case of Zika in Miami-Dade County and another in Broward County that was not related to travel.
Still, even suspected cases trigger costly responses, as inspectors sweep areas to eliminate their breeding sites, set traps and kill any mosquitoes they see.
For someone to acquire Zika in Florida, a person infected with Zika would have to spread the virus to a mosquito, which then would spread it to another human. Officials will also ask whether the patient has had sexual contact with anyone who traveled to an area where Zika is spreading, because the virus can be transmitted sexually.
Officials say more is needed to combat the virus. “Local, state and territorial health departments are on the front lines in the fight against Zika”, said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD.
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The Zika virus can cause miscarriage and serious birth defects, such as microcephaly, which leads to babies born with small heads and underdeveloped brains. And standing water, where mosquitoes breed, tends to be less of a problem in the United States than it is in some other countries, he said. The findings, they said, “confirm the species as a potential vector of the virus”.
