Obama said more than 1,800 known cases of Zika in 50 US states are connected to travel to infected areas. No local transmission through mosquito bite has been detected yet in Texas. State efforts have been underway since January to delay and minimize the impact of Zika on Texas.
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With federal funding to fight Zika stuck in Congress, and amid news that mosquito-to-human transmission of the virus has reached the continental United States, Texas officials announced on Wednesday they would allow Medicaid to pay for mosquito repellent for women, in the hopes of preventing the disease. “This includes traditional insecticide spraying, and now we also have the additional public health program in West Bay using genetically modified mosquitoes”.
Last week, state health officials briefed Gov. Greg Abbott on the state’s response and preparations. “Insect repellent and information are our best defense”. And that continues to be the case this year, without causing a global Zika pandemic, said Matthew Aliota, a research scientist with the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
“We’ll certainly see imported cases”, said James Lunders, manager and biologist of Jackson County Vector Control District. These include using appropriate insect repellents (e.g. containing DEET), sleeping under a mosquito net, staying in areas where doors and windows have screens and using long-sleeved shirts and long trousers.
The letters demand that the companies stop referring to their products as “Zika-protective” or “Zika-preventative”, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.
What the heck is a codepod?: Like Laredo, New Orleans employs tiny fish – specifically, the western mosquitofish – that consume mosquito larvae in fountains, pools and other man-made bodies of water (the state forbids their deployment in natural bodies of water).
Zika poses a serious threat to unborn children, and protecting pregnant women is a central concern.
Brazil has been the country in the Western Hemisphere hit hardest by the Zika epidemic, but most of the infections and cases of microcephaly have occurred in the northeast part of the country, Evans said.
To date, 45 patients, including three pregnant women, have tested positive for Zika.
US cyclist Tejay van Garderen withdrew from Olympic consideration because of the potential effect that Zika infection could have on his pregnant wife.
Apply EPA-approved insect repellent. In warmer weather, wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that covers exposed skin.
Knocking on doors: In April, the mosquito control board and New Orleans Health Department teamed up with local partners and went home-to-home in the city’s high-risk neighborhoods to educate the public. “It’s very important to turn over containers” that contain standing water.
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Because tires are a common breeding place, trash collectors will begin taking up to four old tires a week, said Cynthi Sylvain-Lear, the city’s sanitation director. However, Zika was brought to 12 counties in the state from people who traveled to Zika-infected regions.
