CDC Director Thomas Frieden sounded the alarm Friday on Zika, saying the agency was “now essentially out of money” in the battle against the virus.
Advertisement
Aerial insecticide spraying against mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus has pushed through in Miami Beach, Florida despite protests from the public.
Zika is spreading more widely in the US and cannot only cause microcephaly in which babies are born with grave brain defects but other problems that the country will face for decades.
President Barack Obama requested Congress allocate $1.9 billion for the Zika fight in February.
The state hasn’t seen a case of mosquito transmission so far, but officials are asking people to take steps to control the insect’s populations.
Nearly 3,000 people in the continental US have been found to have Zika, and the total is far higher since most people don’t display symptoms.
The forum came after a day a baby born at t Jackson Memorial Hospital, who was reported has microcephaly as his/her mother has been infected by Zika virus.
Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said yesterday in its regular update that most countries and regions are showing a declining Zika trend, including the Caribbean area that includes Puerto Rico.
In the past, Naled has successfully killed mosquitoes that carry Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses in the mainland USA and in Puerto Rico.
Zika infection is characterized by fever lasting for two to seven days, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis.
But, the country officials said that the low concentration of naled won’t harm the health of the residents.
The virus, which also can also be transmitted sexually, is particularly risky to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. The United Kingdom has advised pregnant women to avoid the county for non-essential travel and consider postponing non-essential travel in the rest of Florida.
The virus can cause neurological disorders in unborn children. The CDC is advising that pregnant women avoid traveling to those areas of Miami where infections are occurring to reduce their risk of contracting Zika.
A virulent version of the Zika virus that has swept the globe is headed for India, where an older, more benign strain is likely to be quietly residing within some Indians, possibly preparing genetic ground for a quick, new second-coming, experts have warned. It added, however, that the recent identification of a new local case in Malaysia moved the country from the list of countries that have ended Zika outbreaks to the list of countries with local transmission.
Advertisement
“We don’t know what congenital Zika syndrome will look like”, Frieden said.
