The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the money will be used to help detect and treat microcephaly, an often-fatal condition in infants linked to Zika.
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“The Zika virus is endemic in other places in the world, but prior to this particular epidemic it had never existed in the Western Hemisphere”, Evans said, comparing the situation to the Spanish explorers who brought European diseases when they first touched the New World.
There have been more than 20 reported cases of Zika in SC but none involving pregnant women and none involving people bitten in the state by mosquitoes carrying the virus. “We join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in urging pregnant women to avoid travel to areas with known Zika transmission”. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the main vector for virus transmission, is rarely found in New Jersey and struggles to establish a population here due to its need for tropical climate.
The Zika outbreak was first detected past year in Brazil.
United States government researchers said on Wednesday they have begun their first clinical trial of a Zika vaccine while the Obama administration told lawmakers funds to fight the virus would run out in the coming weeks due to congressional inaction.
“We have a strong surveillance system in Yuma County and believe the risk of viral spread here throughout Yuma County is very low”.
The state Department of Health says as of July 27, there were 16 confirmed Zika cases statewide.
Public health officials have said small, localized outbreaks are likely in southern USA states already vulnerable to mosquito-borne disease. The insect is related to the AsianTiger mosquito, which is also active in the region. The virus also can be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Scientists have confirmed that Zika can cause birth defects. Symptoms include fever, chills, rash, joint or muscle pain, aches, nausea, vomiting and red eyes. Only one in five people exposed to the virus develop any symptoms.
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Zika can not be transmitted through casual contact, Gomez said.
