Eby said they’re focused on two species of mosquitoes – the Aedes albopictus and the Aedes aegypti – that are likely carriers of Zika and the dengue and chikungunya viruses. The US territory can also apply for funding to hire and train workers to assist in control and outreach efforts, and request local public health departments or agency personnel to be temporarily reassigned to assist in the Zika response.
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The declaration is the second major step that the Obama administration has taken in the past two days to combat the Zika outbreak. Burwell will also take money from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration for Children and Families, which helps to fight poverty, to fund Zika vaccine research at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA. It does not cause serious complications in adults, but the virus can cause severe brain defects and microcephaly in newborns.
Local transmissions are limited to a small one-square mile radius in the Wynwood area of Miami, which is popular with tourists due to its mural-laden walls and hip atmosphere. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says Americans should be more concerned.
Murthy said more funding is needed to ease a backlog of tests for Zika in Puerto Rico.
In light of the potential health risks associated with pregnancy and Zika, special emphasis will be placed on the importance of prevention of the infection in pregnant women. However, those people can still spread the virus and should use repellent and long-sleeved shirts and trousers, he said.
In its weekly Zika update late yesterday, the CDC documented a spike of Zika cases in the U.S. territories, mostly in Puerto Rico. The amount of time between initial infections and the possible births of infants with microcephaly can be several months, which some health officials speculate could be the reason there’s less sense of urgency among the public.
Gilman said the first Canadian case of maternal-to-fetus transmission occurred in a baby that was confirmed to have the virus, but did not have related birth defects and so far appears normal.
Gimenez also asked the governor to consider an economic package for Wynwood, the area most heavily hit by the virus.
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Of the 10 percent of respondents who said they were changing their travel plans, 60 percent said they would postpone their visit to Florida, while 25 percent said they would travel somewhere else. Florida has 413 travel-related cases, and 58 of those are in pregnant women. The outbreak was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation in February.
