Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that only causes mild, flu-like symptoms in most people.
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The number of non-travel Zika patients from South Florida grew on Thursday.
In an unprecedented move, the CDC recommended that pregnant women avoid traveling to the square-mile area of the US mainland where Zika is spreading.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools said Wednesday that insect repellent will be distributed to parents of students at six schools that fall within the Zika zone when classes resume August 22.
The only other confirmed Zika-related death in the US was that of an elderly Utah man who died in June. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pursuant to their guidance, will continue to monitor the entire one square mile area in Miami, north of downtown.
The Miami Herald reports that at a special county commission meeting Tuesday, Chalmers Vasquez said his department finds just one mosquito a day in each trap in the Wynwood district. Since it was discovered that mosquitoes in the area were transmitting the virus, the state has been testing people who reside there. The objective of this test program is to hopefully reduce the population of the Aedis aegypti or the Zika-carrying mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes have a short travel range, and Florida officials are describing the infections as a “small case cluster” that do not indicate widespread transmission.
“We are confident that our mosquito education, prevention and control efforts are working and hopeful that the impacted area will continue to be reduced as the DOH investigation continues”, Scott said in a press release. One of the confirmed cases in Polk County originated through sexual contact, the state of Florida reported.
Texas has reported 97 Zika cases, all contracted during travel overseas. Pregnant women can pass Zika to a fetus during pregnancy or at birth.
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To help residents resolve questions about the virus and its spread, the state has set up a Zika Virus Information Hotline at 1-855-622-6735.
