One of the top U.S. public health officials on August 21 warned that the mosquito-borne Zika virus could extend its reach across the U.S. Gulf Coast after officials last week confirmed it as active in the popular tourist destination of Miami Beach.
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In Pinellas County, the Department of Health and Pinellas County Mosquito Control are working together and have begun aggressive spraying and mosquito abatement efforts.
Pregnant woman who want to get a free Zika test or prevention kit should contact the Department of Health in Pinellas County.
Anyone, anywhere could be at risk, so there are some things we should do to avoid being bitten by a mosquito infected with the Zika virus.
The discovery last week of non-travel-related infections in Miami Beach prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand its travel warning for pregnant women to include the area known for nightclubs, pedestrian thoroughfares and beaches, as well as Wynwood, a neighborhood known for art galleries and boutiques. In addition to mosquitoes, the virus can be sexually transmitted, the CDC has said. Frederica Wilson – a Democrat – and Carlos Curbelo, a Republican, as well as Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.
“This new locally-transmitted Zika case in Pinellas County is right in District 15’s backyard, and I will not stop fighting for those I was elected to help and protect”.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, whose city sits across the bay from Pinellas County, said Tuesday that he isn’t waiting for federal, state or county officials to act.
As the number of confirmed cases of Zika continues to grow, health experts in our area are weighing in on the virus. But another 563 Floridians, including 69 pregnant women, have contracted Zika after traveling outside the continental USA, second only to NY among the states.
If people are actively infected, and haven’t traveled to another Zika-affected area, that suggests active local transmission. Researchers project the virus will also spread to other Southern states, including Texas, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Gambineri said the cases were only announced today because the individuals required antibody testing to rule out other mosquito-borne illness, such as dengue and Chikungunya. Doctors in Scranton are prepared should the virus spread.
The researchers report that the Zika virus appears to be most severe when it is transmitted by the mother to her fetus during the first trimester of pregnancy.
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Zika has relatively mild effects on adults but has been shown to cause microcephaly, a devastating birth defect in newborns. There are also much rarer Zika virus complications that can cause paralysis and death.
