Health officials are urging pregnant women to avoid a Miami neighborhood where mosquitoes are apparently infecting people with the Zika virus.
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Now, as of Monday, there are 10 newly-identified Zika cases in the Miami area described as “home-grown”, meaning from USA infected mosquitoes. Mosquito control is now spraying the area to reduce the mosquito population further and the investigation into the outbreak is ongoing.
“In Miami, aggressive mosquito control measures don’t seem to be working as well as we would have liked”, Frieden said. So far only 14 people have been infected, he said.
It’s why the Johnson County Health Department says any traveler to a Zika-infected area should wear mosquito repellent consistently for three weeks after they return home.
The CDC on Tuesday announced $16 million in grants to 40 states and USA territories to monitor birth defects associated with Zika, a virus often transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. The U.S. should not expect to experience an outbreak similar to the one that’s occurring in Puerto Rico, where the number of cases have reached more than 4,600 as of July 27, Hawkinson said. The area of concern is 1 square-mile in Miami.
” Contacted by AFP, the institute said it had taken its decision independently of other European health authorities, which have yet to issue any travel recommendations”.
The CDC recently sent a team to Utah to help investigate an unusual case of Zika in the state.
Both Jenkins and Chhutani said everyone has to do his or her part to prevent the spread of Zika.
“As we find ourselves at the peak of mosquito season, we are past the point of simple emergency preparedness”, said Sen.
Thompson wants funding to focus on vetting travelers, controlling mosquitoes, and going door-to-door educating residents about Zika.
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Taylor said any pregnant women who visited the area on or after June 15 should see their health care providers for testing. Partners of pregnant women are advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.
