At this time, the department believes that active transmission of the Zika virus are occurring in one small area in Miami-Dade County, in Florida, the statement said. Florida health officials said that four patients in Florida infected with the Zika virus were infected in the Wynwood area.
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Infection control lead for the trust Dr Gavin Boyd, said: “There is extremely low risk of contracting Zika virus in the United Kingdom as the mosquito that transmits the virus is not present in the UK”.
“We now know that there are mosquitos in the state of Florida that are carrying the Zika virus and 4 Floridians have been affected”, said Senator Rubio.
Starting Aug. 1, the Red Cross will stop taking blood donations from those who have been in Miami-Dade or Broward counties in the last four weeks.
One case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been confirmed in Athens County, as well as neighboring Hocking County. In addition, it is recommended that pregnant women considering travel to places such as South Florida and other areas with Zika cases to seek guidance of a physician first.
Zika virus has been reported in Africa and parts of Asia since the 1950s, and in the southwestern Pacific Ocean since 2007.
Earlier in July, authorities began investigating the possible first local transmission of Zika, but Scott’s near-confirmation on Friday amounted to a serious development of the feared health crisis.
Florida should be able to contain the virus to an isolated area because its neighborhoods have better sanitation and living conditions than countries where Zika outbreaks have been widespread, said Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner for agriculture and consumer services.
There is evidence that the virus can be passed through sexual transmission from men to women and men to men.
He said that there are probably more cases that have not been diagnosed and that people should not be surprised if mosquitoes are soon found to be spreading Zika in Louisiana and Texas as well. The vast majority of the cases were from people who traveled to a Zika-prone country, such as Brazil.
“Congress has been sitting on a $1.9 billion proposal that would more fully fund federal response to this public health emergency”, White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said, as reported by Politico. The most common symptoms of the virus are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.
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If Zika is transmitted to a fetus in utero, it can cause microcephaly, or an unusually small head and brain. CDC said it is closely coordinating with Florida officials who are leading the effort.
