Public Health England updated its travel advice after the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland appeared in the state.
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All four of Florida’s cases – two in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward County – are active Zika cases, but none of the people infected have exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital.
According to a report in Usa Today by Liz Szabo, “Scott announced that four Florida residents were likely infected with Zika, which can cause devastating birth defects, in a 1-square-mile area just north of downtown Miami”.
A spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott said the developments in Florida meant Texas officials would continue preparing “the strongest possible response” for the possibility of local Zika transmission. But “we don’t expect widespread transmission in the continental United States”, the CDC’s Frieden said.
Official Public Health England recommend all travellers consider an individual risk assessment before travelling to areas reporting sporadic Zika transmission, but that pregnant women “consider postponing non-essential travel”. “We just happen to be at the forefront”, said Scott. The Zika virus can be spread by Aedes aegypti mosquito bites, sex and blood transfusion.
According to the CDC, at least 50 pregnant women a day are affected in the US.
Fourteen nations have reported microcephaly instances, and the first baby born with the state was reported in Spain this week.
Until now, every reported case of Zika in the US was travel related, including 21 in North Carolina, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 1,650 people in the mainland United States have been infected with Zika in recent months, almost all while traveling overseas.
A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy or during birth.
“There’s a lot of unknowns we don’t know how often women who get infected or people who are exposed to mosquitoes will infect their babies”, Taavon explained.
He added there may be additional cases in the area that haven’t been reported, because most people infected with the virus don’t experience any symptoms.
“As we have anticipated, Zika is now here”, said Tom Frieden, chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), speaking to reporters in a conference call. These cases include 15 believed to be the result of sexual transmission, one that was the result of laboratory exposure, as well as the four new local cases.
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“If you must travel to one of these areas, talk to your healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites during your trip” she said. Officials were also going door to door in the area offering to test the public, and Scott said that they would be “aggressively testing people”. “Sometimes you don’t know where these people were infected”.
