Frieden noted that four out of five people infected with Zika present no symptoms, and those that do experience symptoms such as fevers, rashes, and joint pain may not realize they have Zika, making the progress of an outbreak hard to monitor.
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“We can’t predict the future, but we do know that the Aedes aegypti mosquito travels only about 150 meters [about 500 feet] maximum in its life”, Frieden said. The area is rapidly gentrifying and has numerous construction sites where standing water can collect and serve as a breeding area for mosquitos.
“Following today’s announcement, I have requested that the CDC activate their Emergency Response Team to assist DOH in their investigation, research and sample collection efforts”, he said.
For most people, getting infected may mean little.
On Monday, federal health officials advised pregnant women to avoid a Miami neighborhood found to be a center of Zika cases, marking the first time the CDC has warned against travel to any area within the continental United States.
In what is considered an unusual travel warning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging pregnant women who have been there since mid-June to get tested.
It’s official. The Zika virus has established a toehold in Florida.
Mosquito control efforts are reportedly struggling.
Scott said all known cases of Zika in Florida were caused locally by mosquitos.
USA officials have said they do not expect broad outbreaks like those in Brazil and in some other Latin American countries. Anyone who visited the area is advised to wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive a child. It has been found to cause birth defects including microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies, according to the journal. He adds that he plans to test all pregnant patients who have traveled to Miami-Dade and Broward counties for Zika.
Scott said Florida would try to continue to keep residents and visitors safe utilizing constant surveillance and aggressive strategies, such as increased mosquito spraying, that have allowed the state to fight similar viruses. And men who have had symptoms of Zika should wait at least six months, the CDC said.
Doctors at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are considering expanding their travel advisory to all of Florida.
Women and men who traveled to this area and who have a pregnant sex partner should use condoms or other barriers to prevent infection every time they have sex or not have sex during the pregnancy.
Health officials remain confident that a wider outbreak will be avoided thanks to “better sanitation, better mosquito control and wider use of window screens and air conditioners” in the United States.
Now that Zika has established itself in the US mosquito population, it’s likely to prove tough to eradicate.
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He also said mosquito control is hard in that neighborhood.
