Zika virus continues to infiltrate the USA, with a total of 1,825 reported cases in the U.S.as of August 3, and 497 pregnant women with evidence of Zika virus infection as of July 28, according to the CDC.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Thursday that the New Mexico Department of Health will receive a $400,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help establish, enhance and maintain systems to rapidly detect microcephaly and other adverse birth outcomes related to the Zika virus.
Zika virus is of greatest threat to pregnant women, as their child may be at risk for certain severe birth defects as a result of infection.
The Yuma Public Health Department confirmed one person was diagnosed with the Zika Virus. Broward, which has reported 55 travel-related Zika infections and two locally acquired cases, has received $221,000 from the state’s health department to combat the virus.
“We’ve been asked, ‘Why not all of Miami?'” Dr. Frieden says. It is meant to trigger an immune response that would protect against the mosquito-borne virus, according to a statement from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The Florida Department of Health is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and local county mosquito control boards to ensure protection.
Symptoms include redness in eyes, fever, a rash and joint pain.
This outbreak is the first time the disease has been spread in the continental USA through infected mosquitoes.
The new locally transmitted case was in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, where state and local officials have identified a 1-square mile zone to concentrate their efforts.
National and state case counts compiled by the CDC can be found here. It can also be spread through sexual contact, blood transfusion and from a pregnant woman to her fetus.
People with the symptoms should seek medical attention, Wild said, and “advise medical professionals if you traveled to those areas”.
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But he has also sought more help from the federal government, asking this week for an additional 10,000 Zika prevention kits for pregnant women and reiterating his request for a plan to receive funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
