Zika infection often displays no or mild symptoms.
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Florida yesterday began aerial spraying to kill mosquitoes in a Miami neighborhood with the first United States spread of the Zika virus.
The new locally transmitted case was in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, where state and local officials have identified a 1-square mile zone to concentrate their efforts.
“We continue learn more about this disease on a daily basis, leading to CDC guidelines being updated frequently”, said Nancy Furness, communicable disease director for the Snohomish Health District.
Health officials said the infants were born to women who spent time in a country with a Zika virus epidemic and had infections during pregnancy.
Microcephaly results in children being born with abnormally small heads and brain damage.
But the new information casts doubt over the effectiveness of weeks of intensive mosquito-control efforts in South Florida and raises questions about tourism in the state, which drew more than 100 million visitors previous year. The reason: better insect control as well as window screens and air conditioning that should help curtail any outbreaks.
The 12 newly identified patients were most likely infected weeks ago, as early as mid-June, the officials said.
The primary means of transmission of Zika is through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Zika cases in New Hampshire are all people who went to an affected zone or who had sexual content with someone who did.
This outbreak is the first time the disease has been spread in the continental USA through infected mosquitoes.
There is no Zika vaccine yet, but researchers said they are making progress.
“Pregnant women or those considering pregnancy should use the CDC’s travel advisories to think carefully about summer travel”, said Dr. Janet Berreman, the city of Berkeley’s health officer. The cases represent the first Zika infections transmitted by mainland American mosquitoes.
So far, the almost 1,700 Zika infections reported in the United States mainly have been linked to travel to countries with Zika outbreaks in Latin America or the Caribbean.
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Mosquito spraying is underway in a Miami neighborhood where the first locally transmitted cases of Zika virus in the USA were found. Middlesex County has seven reported cases, while Somerset has none.
