“County health officials and emergency management personnel have been studying Zika intently and are prepared to respond to any local developments”. “We are devastated to report our first case of Zika-associated death and our hearts go out to the family”, said Dr. Shah.
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Statewide, 21 cases of locally acquired virus have been recorded, all in Southeast Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties). Federal officials last week warned pregnant women to avoid the Miami neighborhood and a square-mile area around it.
The Zika virus has already been linked to serious birth defects in the brain, and now it looks as if the virus may also cause deformities of joints in the arms and legs of newborns, a new Brazilian study suggests.
Until this month, the only known Zika cases in the United States were in people who had recently traveled to Latin America or the Caribbean.
More aerial mosquito spraying was done in Wynwood as another non-travel related Zika case was found. He suffered from additional health conditions. DSHS drafted its own plan of action to deal with the threat including coordinating with local public health agencies, since the response to an epidemic often begins with local authorities.
Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. “We need that everyone take ownership of this”. “But as with any virus, you never know there”. Less than 60 days later, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO felt they had enough information to announce a probable association between Zika and congenital malformations, and so in December both organizations issued an alert. (According to World Health Organization, as many as 73 percent of all Yap residents were infected with Zika.) In the coming years, Zika would spread to four other Pacific islands: French Polynesia, Easter Island, Cook Islands, and New Caledonia.
The baby’s mother moved to Harris County from an affected region during her second trimester and never developed symptoms of Zika. One theory is that Zika virus kills brain cells and forms scar-like lesions in the brain on which calcium is deposited, the researchers said.
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The Zika virus is typically transmitted via mosquitoes, and is especially unsafe during pregnancy because it can cause the birth defect microcephaly – where babies are born with a small head and underdeveloped brain. The workgroup discussed challenges with Zika testing, reporting, and referral; emerging shortages at blood banks as a result of bans on donors who had traveled to Zika-infested areas; and potential TMA activities to help physicians and the public prevent and stop Zika. Six other people have contracted the virus overseas and returned home carrying the infection. Since that time the virus has spread rapidly through the Americas.
