Florida health officials have identified four new local cases of the Zika virus in Miami.
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Last month Texas reported the state’s first case of microcephaly linked to Zika, also a Harris County infant.
The person who contracted the disease was a returning traveler from a Zika-affected country, according to the health district.
The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where active Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas.
While the two types of mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus are not likely to make it as far north as Wisconsin, the Division of Public Health is actively collaborating with local health departments to watch for them.
Texas reported its first Zika-related death Tuesday after a baby girl whose mother traveled to El Salvador while pregnant died shortly after birth in a suburban Houston hospital.
Zika is one of the most risky viruses, especially as there is no official treatment for it and the symptoms are not always so easy to discover.
(CNN) – As Florida health crews work to rid the state of Zika-infected mosquitoes, other parts of the nation are nervously bracing for the virus to spread. State health officials say that while mosquitoes capable of carrying Zika have been found in 12 California counties, “there is no evidence these mosquitoes are transmitting Zika in the state at this time”.
If pregnant women think they’ve been exposed to the virus, they can go to any county health department and be tested free of charge.
Zika is linked to birth defects – so women who are pregnant or are planning a pregnancy should avoid travel to areas that have active Zika infections.
The new infections were reported the same day that Texas reported its first Zika-related death. Florida is the only state where locally-transmitted cases have been confirmed.
In addition to mosquitoes, the Zika virus can be transmitted through sex.
Younger children are excluded from the guidelines because many childhood viral diseases have the same symptoms.
Another 369 cases in Florida were brought in by people who were infected while traveling outside the United States.
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This female patient also lives in George Town, as does the male patient in the case reported Monday, but her symptoms reportedly began on 10 July, more than two weeks before what was previously believed to be Cayman’s first local acquisition.
