The FDA has now deemed Florida’s local Zika transmission a threat as they put a stop on blood donations in Miami-Dade and Broward due to a potential outbreak in the disease.
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Florida health officials are investigating two more unexplained cases of Zika infection, bringing to four the number of cases that don’t seem to be related to travel to countries where the virus is circulating.
Florida officials said Wednesday that they are yet to draw any conclusion from their investigation but are trying to determine how it was transmitted.
Zika most commonly infects people via mosquito bite. Thirteen American women have had babies with Zika-related birth defects. It can take up to two hours to extract platelets using an apheresis machine, said Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer for Cerus.
Florida’s governor says the state has concluded that four mysterious Zika infections likely came from mosquitoes in the Miami area.
Thursday afternoon, two new travel-related cased of Zika emerged, both involving pregnant women. We have effective mosquito repellents recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The CDC has confirmed that the Zika virus is responsible for causing severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and often with brains that do not develop properly.
To officially confirm local transmission, these disease detectives “must survey households and neighbors within a 150-yard radius around the residence of the person who has Zika, which constitutes the flying range of the mosquitoes that carry the virus”, according to Reuters.
The FDA previously advised USA blood banks to refuse donations from people who recently traveled to areas outside the country that have Zika outbreaks.
If any of these four cases is determined to be an infection transmitted by local mosquitoes, it would signify the first local mosquito transmission of Zika in the continental United States. Seven women have miscarried or terminated pregnancies because of Zika, including one in Puerto Rico.
Zika causes only a mild illness in most people.
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“The situation remains fluid and additional information will be released as it becomes available”, the release also stated.
