Local health officials on Friday confirmed the first case of Zika virus infection in Lewis and Clark County, but noted it does not pose a threat to the community.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has provided Florida $8 million in Zika-specific funding, and the White House has said the state can anticipate receiving another $5.6 million in Zika funding through a grant this week. They did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about ruling out other methods of transmission, such as sex. More than 1,400 cases of Zika have been reported in the continental United States so far.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said the first confirmed case in the city is not surprising given the travel trends of New York City.
Zika spreads to people primarily through mosquito bites, and it can also be spread sexually.
To date, there are 353 cases of Zika virus in the state of Florida, including 47 pregnant women.
According to the Bismark Tribune, the North Dakota Department of Health reported a man who recently traveled to Costa Rica has tested positive for Zika, although he was not hospitalized. “We try to get access to every backyard we can”, Vasquez said. Testing methods involve mosquitoes’ trapping to try to find signs of Zika virus.
“We’re constantly in the area”.
To determine whether a case was caused by local transmission, health workers need to survey households and neighbors within a 150-yard (137 meters) radius of an infected person’s residence, Fischer said at a CDC workshop on Thursday.
Women who are pregnant are most at-risk to the virus, as Zika is known to cause birth defects, including microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. That’s where mosquitoes capable of spreading the disease (Aedes aegypti) are most common.
Nadja Mayerle with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District looks at a mosquito Tuesday, July 19, 2016, in Salt Lake City.
In an effort help fight the Zika virus, CDC will make awards totaling about $60 million to states, cities, and territories.
These days Hamilton isn’t taking any chances and how to avoid mosquito bites is constantly on her mind. Most of Brazil’s anti-Zika initiatives are aimed at that bug, which also transmits dengue fever and Chikungunya.
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People infected with Zika usually have mild symptoms or none at all.
