Health officials in Florida announced that ten new cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been reported across the state.
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According to health officials, the patient is expected to fully recover.
A new case of travel-related Zika has been confirmed in Lee County, which brings the total to six in Lee since statewide tracking began in early February.
To date, the Centres for Disease Control knows of just 13 cases of Zika being sexually transmitted within the continental United States.
“These additional funds will allow health centers in these territories to offer a more robust response to the Zika threat”, Jim Macrae, MA, MPP, acting administrator of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, said in the release. A mosquito in Maryland could conceivably bite a person, become infected itself and then transmit the virus to another person. They hope to study both asymptomatic and symptomatic infections (as many as 80 percent of adults infected with Zika never present any symptoms).
In Maryland, the best defense against the Zika virus is a good offense – not getting bit by a mosquito in the first place.
Health officials are increasingly concerned about those living in poor, urban areas along the Gulf Coast, where people are less more likely to have broken window screens, limited air conditioning and unsanitary conditions, some health officials recently told the Associated Press.
President Barack Obama said USA researchers can probably develop a vaccine for the Zika virus more quickly if Congress sets aside partisan squabbling and passes legislation to fund programs aimed at combating the spread of the pathogen that’s been linked to birth defects.
The baby was not born with microcephaly – a rare neurological condition that causes babies to have smaller than normal heads and can cause incomplete brain development – or any other birth defects.
With the summer sun upon us, many have amped up their mosquito control measures in fear of the Zika virus.
Zika is typically spread by mosquitos.
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Officials are urging people to take extra precaution to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, using insect repellents and removing outdoor standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
