The Centers For Disease Control confirms the presence and transmission of Zika in Costa Rica, reporting, “Local mosquito transmission of Zika virus infection (Zika) has been reported in Costa Rica”, the CDC said.
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All prior cases of Zika in the United States have been linked with travel to a country where the virus is circulating or to sex with someone who has done such travel.
New York City has its first confirmed case of a baby born with Zika-related birth defects.
He said that was basically the flying radius of the mosquitoes that spread Zika.
The tropical mosquito that carries Zika, Aedes aegypti, likes to live near people and it doesn’t travel far.
On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health launched an epidemiological investigation into a possible case of Zika detected in Broward County not associated with travel.
“We are at the front lines of this situation with Zika virus now”, said Miami-Dade County mosquito control manager Chalmers Vasquez. It raises the prospect that the disease can be spread through contact with bodily fluids, rather than directly by a mosquito bite or through sex with an infected person. Most people infected with Zika do not become ill, and those who do have mild symptoms like fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The department is also trapping mosquitoes and testing them for the Zika virus. Another 47 travel-related cases involving pregnant women have also been confirmed by the state. Thus far, more than 400 pregnant women in the U.S. have shown evidence of Zika infection, which is up from 346 one week ago. While Zika is known to cause severe birth defects, the baby has not obvious physical abnormalities. “Local, state and territorial health departments are on the front lines in the fight against Zika”, said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD.
Herminia Palacia, deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, said the city has been preparing for a case for months, “and we stand ready to help families caring for an infant with microcephaly”.
The federal government is providing $5.6 million to Florida for Zika prevention.
President Barack Obama’s administration has also requested almost $2 billion in additional funding to fight Zika.
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Tom Skinner, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s senior press officer, said Thursday in response to the study’s findings, “the study would need to be replicated to have a better understanding of possible implications”.
