Local Zika Transmission Miami Dade & Broward Cos Florida

niman · July 29, 2016

Florida has issued a press release defining area of Zika transmission by mosquitoes in Miami Dade and Broward Counties.

Edited July 29, 2016 by niman

niman · July 29, 2016

Department of Health Responds to Local Zika Cases

By Florida Department of Health, Office of Communications

July 29, 2016

Press Release

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Map of area affected by locally acquired Zika cases

July 29, 2016

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESPONDS TO LOCAL ZIKA CASES

Contact:
Communications Office
[email protected]
(850) 245-4111

Tallahassee, Fla.—The Florida Department of Health has gathered enough information as part of its ongoing investigation into non-travel related cases of Zika in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to conclude that a high likelihood exists that four cases are the result of local transmission. At this time, the department believes that active transmission of the Zika virus are occurring in one small area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown. The exact location is within the boundaries of the following area: NW 5th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38th Street to the north and NW/NE 20th Street to the south. This area is about 1 square mile and a map is below to detail the area. While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area.

The department is actively conducting door-to-door outreach and urine sample collection in the impacted area and will share more details as they become available. The results from these efforts will help department determine the number of people affected. These local cases were identified by clinicians who brought them to the attention of the department. In addition, blood banks in the area are currently excluding donations from impacted areas until screening protocols are in place.

In an effort to keep Florida residents and visitors safe and aware about the status of the Zika virus, the department will continue to issue a Zika virus update each week day at 2 p.m. Updates will include a CDC-confirmed Zika case count by county and information to better keep Floridians prepared.

There are three new travel-related cases today in Miami-Dade County. According to CDC, symptoms associated with the Zika virus last between seven to 10 days.

CDC recommends that women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to areas with widespread Zika infection. Florida’s small case cluster is not considered widespread transmission.According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus. CDC recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds.

Florida has been monitoring pregnant women with evidence of Zika regardless of symptoms since January. The total number of pregnant women who have been monitored is 55, with 18 having met the previous CDC case definition.

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and CDC released a new case definition for Zika that now includes reporting both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases of Zika. Prior to this change, states reported only symptomatic non-pregnant cases and pregnant cases regardless of symptoms. This change comes as a result of increased availability for testing in commercial laboratories.

County	Number of Cases (all travel related)
Alachua	5
Brevard	8
Broward	55
Charlotte	1
Citrus	2
Clay	3
Collier	4
Duval	6
Escambia	2
Highlands	1
Hillsborough	10
Lake	1
Lee	6
Manatee	1
Martin	1
Miami-Dade	99
Okaloosa	2
Okeechobee	1
Orange	40
Osceola	18
Palm Beach	18
Pasco	6
Pinellas	7
Polk	12
Santa Rosa	1
Seminole	12
St. Johns	3
St. Lucie	1
Volusia	5
Total cases not involving pregnant women	331

Cases involving pregnant women regardless of symptoms*

55

*Counties of pregnant women will not be shared.

On Feb. 12, Governor Scott directed the State Surgeon General to activate a Zika Virus Information Hotline for current Florida residents and visitors, as well as anyone planning on traveling to Florida in the near future. The hotline, managed by the Department of Health, has assisted 2,421 callers since it launched. The number for the Zika Virus Information Hotline is 1-855-622-6735.

The department urges Floridians to drain standing water weekly, no matter how seemingly small. A couple drops of water in a bottle cap can be a breeding location for mosquitoes. Residents and visitors also need to use repellents when enjoying the Florida outdoors.

More Information on DOH action on Zika:

On Feb. 3, Governor Scott directed the State Surgeon General to issue a Declaration of Public Health Emergency for the counties of residents with travel-associated cases of Zika.
- There have been 29 counties included in the declaration– Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia – and will be updated as needed.
DOH encourages Florida residents and visitors to protect themselves from all mosquito-borne illnesses by draining standing water; covering their clothing and bare skin with repellent; and covering windows with screens.
DOH has a robust mosquito-borne illness surveillance system and is working with CDC, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and local county mosquito control boards to ensure that the proper precautions are being taken to protect Florida residents and visitors.
On April 6, Governor Scott and Interim State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip hosted a conference call with Florida Mosquito Control Districts to discuss ongoing preparations to fight the possible spread of the Zika virus in Florida. There were 74 attendees on the call.
On May 11, Governor Scott met with federal leaders on the importance of preparing for Zika as we would a hurricane. Governor Scott requested 5,000 Zika preparedness kits from HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell as well as a plan from FEMA on how resources will be allocated to states in the event an emergency is declared.
On June 1, Governor Scott requested for President Obama to provide preparedness items needed in order to increase Florida’s capacity to be ready when Zika becomes mosquito-borne in our state.
On June 9, Governor Scott spoke with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden on Zika preparedness and reiterated the requests that he has continued to make to the federal government to prepare for the Zika virus once it becomes mosquito-borne in Florida. Governor Scott also requested that the CDC provide an additional 1,300 Zika antibody tests to Florida to allow individuals, especially pregnant women and new mothers, to see if they ever had the Zika virus.
On June 23, Governor Scott announced that he will use his emergency executive authority to allocate $26.2 million in state funds for Zika preparedness, prevention and response in Florida.
On June 28, the department announced the first confirmed case of microcephaly in an infant born in Florida whose mother had a travel-related case of Zika. The mother of the infant contracted Zika while in Haiti. Following the confirmation of this case, Governor Scott called on CDC to host a call with Florida medical professionals, including OBGYNs and physicians specializing in family medicine, to discuss the neurological impacts of Zika and what precautions new and expecting mothers should take.
On July 1, CDC hosted a call with Florida medical professionals, including OB/GYNs, pediatricians and physicians specializing in family medicine, to discuss the neurological impacts of Zika and what precautions new and expecting mothers should take. More than 120 clinicians participated.
Florida currently has the capacity to test 6,609 people for active Zika virus and 2,059 for Zika antibodies.

Federal Guidance on Zika:

According to CDC, Zika illness is generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain. CDC researchers have concluded that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other birth defects.

The FDA released guidance regarding donor screening, deferral and product management to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmission of Zika virus. Additional information is available on the FDA website here.

CDC has put out guidance related to the sexual transmission of the Zika virus. This includes CDC recommendation that if you have traveled to a country with local transmission of Zika you should abstain from unprotected sex.

For more information on Zika virus, click here.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2016/07/072916-local-zika.html

niman · July 29, 2016

JULY 29, 2016 10:11 AM

Local transmission of Zika by mosquitoes confirmed in Miami

1 of 3

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday morning that Zika virus is being transmitted by local mosquitoes in a one-square-mile area north of Downtown Miami. The exact location identified as having active Zika transmission is within Northwest 5th Avenue to the west, U.S. 1 to the east, Northwest/Northeast 38th Street to the north and Northwest/Northeast 20th Street to the south.

BY DANIEL CHANG

[email protected]

Zika virus is actively being transmitted by local mosquitoes in a one-square-mile area just north of Downtown Miami, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday morning in confirming that four cases of Zika infection in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were acquired locally.

The exact location identified as having active Zika transmission is within Northwest 5th Avenue to the west, U.S. 1 to the east, Northwest/Northeast 38th Street to the north and Northwest/Northeast 20th Street to the south.

Interactive feature: Daily Florida Zika virus tracker

This is currently the only area of the state where the Florida Department of Health is testing to see if there local mosquitoes are spreading Zika. All four of Florida’s cases — two in Miami-Dade and two in Broward — are active Zika cases but none of the people inected have exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital.

“We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite,” Scott said in confirming the locally acquired cases.

The first suspected local case was announced in Miami-Dade on July 19, and the second in Broward on July 21. On Wednesday, the health department announced two more suspected cases in both counties.

The health department reported two new travel-related casesThursday, both involving pregnant women, raising the statewide total to 383 people who have contracted the virus this year, including 55 expectant mothers.

Pregnant women are considered to be at the greatest risk from the Zika virus because it can cause microcephaly and other birth defects.

No mosquitoes in Florida have tested positive for the Zika virus to date, Scott said. But the health department is testing people in the area in search of other cases. The health department urged people who live in the area north of downtown and want to be tested to contact the Miami-Dade agency at 305-324-2400 for more information.

How Zika spreads (and who’s to blame)

The mosquito kills nearly 750,000 people each year. Malaria is the cause for the majority of these deaths, but a Zika outbreak has the Americas scared of this insect. This is how the insect spreads disease to its victims.

Sohail Al-Jamea and Meta Viers McClatchy

In confirming local transmission of Zika, Scott said he directed the health department to immediately begin contracting with commercial pest control companies to increase spraying and mosquito reduction efforts in the impacted area.

The governor also directed the health department to activate the Joint Information Center within the state’s Emergency Operations Center to ensure impacted areas have coordinated access to information and resources.

Scott also ordered that Florida:

• Provide $620,000 to OneBlood, the primary blood bank in the area, to establish appropriate blood screening. OneBlood began screening all blood donations for Zika virus on Friday.

• Work with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue a Mosquito Declaration and ensure that Mosquito Control in the areas of concern have the resources they need to combat further local transmission. Miami-Dade and Broward County Mosquito Control Districts will receive $1.28 million in state funds through December to combat Zika.

• Continue investigations in concert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure we learn all we can about Zika as an emerging disease.

• Coordinate with OB/GYNs and organizations that serve pregnant woman in the impacted area to distribute Zika prevention kits to pregnant women.

• Ongoing door-to-door outreach in the areas of concern with continued mosquito mitigation activities and repellant distribution.

• Partner with VISIT FLORIDA to distribute educational items, repellant and Zika Prevention Kits for pregnant women to visitor centers in the impacted areas.

• Partner with the Florida Department of Education to ensure that mosquito breeding source reduction and mitigation activities have occurred at all schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties ahead of children returning to classes this fall.(305) 575-3800

Daniel Chang: 305-376-2012, @dchangmiami

ZIKA CASES REPORTED IN FLORIDA AS OF JULY 28

County	Number of Cases
Alachua	5
Brevard	8
Broward**	55
Charlotte	1
Citrus	2
Clay	3
Collier	4
Duval	6
Escambia	2
Highlands	1
Hillsborough	10
Lake	1
Lee	6
Manatee	1
Martin	1
Miami-Dade**	96
Okaloosa	2
Okeechobee	1
Orange	40
Osceola	18
Palm Beach	18
Pasco	6
Pinellas	7
Polk	12
Santa Rosa	1
Seminole	12
St. Johns	3
St. Lucie	1
Volusia	5
Total cases not involving pregnant women	328

Cases involving pregnant women regardless of symptoms*

55

* Counties of pregnant women not disclosed.

** Does not included suspected cases of local transmission.

Source: Florida Department of Health

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article92566182.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article92566182.html#storylink=cpy

niman · July 29, 2016

Press Release

For immediate release
Friday, July 29, 2016

Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Florida investigation links four recent Zika cases to local mosquito-borne virus transmission

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been informed by the State of Florida that Zika virus infections in four people were likely caused by bites of local Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The cases are likely the first known occurrence of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States. CDC is closely coordinating with Florida officials who are leading the ongoing investigations, and at the state’s request, sent a CDC medical epidemiologist to provide additional assistance.

State officials have responded rapidly with mosquito control measures and a community-wide search for additional Zika cases. Under the current situation, there are no plans for limiting travel to the area.

“All the evidence we have seen indicates that this is mosquito-borne transmission that occurred several weeks ago in several blocks inMiami,” said Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC. “We continue to recommend that everyone in areas where Aedes aegyptimosquitoes are present—and especially pregnant women—take steps to avoid mosquito bites. We will continue to support Florida’s efforts to investigate and respond to Zika and will reassess the situation and our recommendations on a daily basis.”

Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus), but can also be spread during sex by a person infected with Zika to their partner. Most people infected with Zika won’t have symptoms, but for those who do, the illness is usually mild. However, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe fetal birth defects.

“We have been working with state and local governments to prepare for the likelihood of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States and Hawaii,” said Lyle Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., incident manager for CDC’s Zika virus response. “We anticipate that there may be additional cases of ‘homegrown’ Zika in the coming weeks. Our top priority is to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating harm caused by Zika.”

CDC has been working with state, local, and territorial health officials to prepare for locally transmitted Zika infection in the United States. Officials from Florida participated in all these activities, and their experience in responding to mosquito-borne diseases similar to Zika, including dengue and chikungunya, has helped guide their current investigations. To date, CDC has provided Florida more than $8 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness funding that can be used for Zika response efforts.

Because we are in mosquito season, CDC continues to encourage everyone, especially pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant, to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Remember to use an insect repellent registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, use or repair screens on windows and doors, use air conditioning when available, and remove standing water where mosquitoes can lay eggs.

We continue to learn about Zika virus, and we are working hard to find out more about these cases. Here is what we do know:
·         Zika is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus).
·         A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy or during birth.
·         Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects, and is associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
·         A person who is infected with Zika virus can pass it to sex partners.
·         Many people infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.
·         No vaccines or treatments are currently available to treat or prevent Zika infections.

As of July 27, 2016, 1,658 cases of Zika have been reported to CDC in the continental United States and Hawaii; none of these were the result of local spread by mosquitoes. These cases include 15 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure.  This number does not include the four Florida cases likely caused by local transmission.

For more information about Zika: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/.

niman · July 29, 2016

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz says today's news on mosquito-bite Zika virus infections in Florida 'should be a wake-up call to Congress' to move on funding the fight against the virus

http://www.breakingnews.com/item/2016/07/29/white-house-principal-deputy-press-secretary-eric/

niman · July 29, 2016

Zika Cases in Florida Were Likely Spread by Mosquitoes, a First in the Continental U.S.

By PAM BELLUCK, LIZETTE ALVAREZ and SABRINA TAVERNISEJULY 29, 2016

Four cases of Zika infection in Miami are highly likely to have been caused by infected mosquitoes, the state Department of Health said Friday — the first documented instance of local transmission in the continental United States.

Officials in Florida believe that the area of active transmission is limited to a one-square-mile area just north of downtown Miami. No mosquitoes tested have been found carrying the Zika virus, and the department is going door to door in the neighborhood collecting urine samples to test residents.

Miami-Dade County is one of the busiest ports of entry into the United States from countries where the Zika virus is circulating. Health experts have long described it as one of the areas most at risk for an outbreak of the disease.

Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement that the four cases involve three men and one woman. He did not indicate whether the woman was pregnant.

“While no mosquitoes have tested positive for the Zika virus,” Mr. Scott said, the Health Department “is aggressively testing people in this area to ensure there are no other cases. If you live in this area and want to be tested, I urge you to contact the county health department.”

Of the four people infected, he said, “They are all active Zika cases and have not exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital.”

The neighborhood that the authorities are focusing on is in the Wynwood area, bound by Northwest Fifth Avenue, U.S. 1, Northwest/Northeast 38th Street and Northwest/Northeast 20th Street.

The virus, transmitted by mosquitoes or by sex with an infected person, causes brain damage and neurological disorders in babies born to mothers who contracted it in pregnancy. In rare cases, it can also cause a form of temporary paralysis.

A mosquito’s range is short, said Dr. Chris Curry, a clinician and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital, the county’s largest public hospital, who is in close contact with public health officials.

“They tend to bite locally, ZIP code by ZIP code,” Dr. Curry said.

Florida officials were at pains to describe the infections as a “small case cluster” that did not qualify as widespread transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that pregnant women avoid areas in which there is widespread transmission of the Zika virus.

The Florida cases signal a new stage in the epidemic. There are more than 1,600 confirmed Zika cases in the continental United States, but until the announcement on Friday, all of them had been a result of travel abroad — the virus was contracted either by a mosquito bite elsewhere or by sexual intercourse with someone who had been to a Zika-affected area.

Zika has spread through dozens of countries in the Americas, afflicting hundreds of infants with a condition called microcephaly — abnormally small heads and brain damage. The infection is believed to contribute to variety of other neurological impairments.

Public health officials had been bracing for locally transmitted cases. But the virus is not expected to spread rapidly in the continental United States, partly because Americans more often live in air-conditioned houses and are less exposed to mosquitoes.

But the infection has been spreading quickly in Puerto Rico, where more than 5,000 cases have been confirmed. Experts suspect the real figure may be much higher.

The outbreak is difficult to fight because 80 percent of those infected with the virus experience no symptoms. But even a small cluster of cases could have outsize effects if it includes anyone who is pregnant.

A crucial part of stopping the outbreak is mosquito control, which is spotty at best in the United States, particularly in low income communities with weak tax bases. (Mosquito control is a local responsibility, though the C.D.C. has said it would help states hire contractors to conduct control work like spraying.)

Officials across the country had been preparing for the first cases for months, beefing up mosquito control departments, doing drills, setting up trainings for health workers and pumping out messages to the public to keep their backyards clear of water-filled containers, which provide breeding grounds for the insects.

State officials have complained, however, that they are hobbled by a lack of funding: Congress left for recess this month without passing President Obama’s $1.9 billion funding request to fight the virus. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the C.D.C., has said that failure would significantly hamper federal public health efforts.

In a phone call with Governor Scott last week, Mr. Obama said that the C.D.C. would give Florida $5.6 million in Zika funding, in addition to the $2 million the state has already received. In all, the agency has begun awarding $60 million to states, cities and territories, funds that will be available on Monday.

Mr. Scott had used his emergency executive authority in June to allocate $26.2 million in state money for Zika preparedness, prevention and response.

Despite its size, Miami-Dade County’s mosquito control budget had been very limited — far skimpier than some of the surrounding Florida counties with much smaller populations — and experts had long worried it would need more resources should a cluster of cases appear.

Chalmers Vasquez, the county’s mosquito control manager, said he had been assured of the resources needed to fight Zika. His office has contracted additional employees, and more can be added if Zika becomes a bigger threat.

“So far, it’s manageable,” he said, adding that he receives about 50 requests a day from residents for assistance. He added, “People are all waiting for Congress to approve the money.”

Mr. Vasquez’s office was notified on Friday about one suspected case of locally acquired Zika. He led a team of six people to the location of the person infected with the virus.

The team went into the front yard and backyard to look for mosquito breeding activity, peering into plants, like bromeliads, dumping containers with water and treating any standing water with insecticide. Workers also set traps to collect mosquitoes for analysis, spraying the areas by hand and applying larvicide. A mosquito spray truck was also sent into the area.

They spent the weekend rolling out the same routine around the perimeter of the property — an area of 660 feet, which is about how far the mosquitoes that transmit Zika fly.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries the virus rarely flies farther than a few blocks in its short lifetime, and tends to stick close to homes, in gardens, and under chairs and couches. The mosquito has a limited range in the United States, rarely appearing farther north than the Deep South, Arizona and California.

The C.D.C. released a 60-page document this year, a blueprint for action when the first cases of locally transmitted Zika occurred in the continental United States.

The plan says officials should provide “a large margin of safety” by concentrating efforts within a one-mile circle around each known infection. One case, with no further transmission, would require a 45-day effort, the C.D.C. said.

If the infection spreads, the agency will help local officials investigate and to warn residents; and, if needed, the agency will send in emergency teams. The Food and Drug Administration this week halted blood donations in South Florida until they can be screened for Zika infection.

Jennifer Levin, a 32-year-old lawyer in Miami who is six months pregnant, said she was trying not to overreact to the news that local mosquitoes are spreading the Zika virus.

To be cautious, she has followed her doctor’s advice: Apply mosquito spray (“I had never used bug spray in my life,” she said) and stay indoors after it rains and at sunset, when mosquitoes swarm. Ms. Levin said she was not traveling to places where Zika is found, like Puerto Rico.

“I asked the doctor about it and he told me I had more chances of getting hurt in a car accident than contracting Zika,” Ms. Levin said. But, she added, “He said be smart.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/health/zika-virus-florida-case.html?_r=0

Edited August 13, 2016 by niman

niman · July 29, 2016

Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:15pm EDT

Florida cases seen as first sign Zika transmitted locally in U.S.

ORLANDO, FLA. | BY BARBARA LISTON

Florida authorities on Friday reported what is believed to be the first evidence of local Zika transmission in the continental United States, concluding that mosquitoes likely infected four people with the virus that can cause rare but serious birth defects.

Governor Rick Scott said the state believed active transmission of the virus was occurring within an area of the city about the size of a square mile (2.6 square kms). Testing showed that one woman and three men had been infected, Scott said.

While health officials have yet to identify mosquitoes carrying the virus, the state has ruled out other means of transmission, including travel to another country with a Zika outbreak, and sexual contact.

"We have worked hard to stay ahead of the spread of Zika and prepare for the worst," Scott said in a statement. "We will continue to put every resource available to fighting the spread of Zika in our state."

Zika's greatest risk is believed to be posed by infection in pregnant women, given its ability to cause microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by small head size that can lead to developmental problems. The current outbreak was first detected in Brazil last year and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.

Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip said that health officials are not advising pregnant women in the transmission area to move.

"We do not believe there will be ongoing transmission," Philip said at a press conference in Orlando, citing daily efforts to control the mosquito population in the area.

The local health department is searching for other potential infections, with more than 2,300 people tested so far in the state, is ramping up mosquito control programs and is distributing Zika protection kits to pregnant women at their doctors' offices, Florida officials said.

Residents in Miami neighborhoods thought to harbor Zika said that local spread of the virus had been inevitable, given the large numbers of tourists from other countries with outbreaks.

Damian Jose Delgado, a 35-year-old father of two, said news of Zika's arrival would make him think twice about expanding his family.

"I think I might be done having kids," Delgado said.

EARLY WARNINGS

U.S. health officials have cautioned for months that the summer mosquito season was likely to bring local outbreaks, with Gulf Coast states such as Florida, Texas and Louisiana, on the frontlines. Some have said Zika's spread could be more limited than in places like Brazil, given widespread use of screens on windows, air conditioning and mosquito control programs.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that it would not recommend limiting travel to Florida. The agency has recommended that pregnant women not travel to other countries where Zika is active.

"We anticipate that there may be additional cases of 'homegrown' Zika in the coming weeks," said Dr. Lyle Petersen, a CDC official helping lead the agency's Zika response effort. "Our top priority is to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating harm caused by Zika."

Up to 80 percent of people infected with Zika may experience no signs of illness, while those who do generally have relatively mild symptoms, including fever and rash. There are no specific treatments or vaccines for the virus.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in February, reflecting alarm over the discovery that Zika was linked to microcephaly and other severe neurological abnormalities. Brazil has confirmed over 1,600 cases of microcephaly linked to Zika infection in pregnant women.

Public health officials say Zika is also a likely cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder in adults that can cause temporary paralysis.

Zika's arrival in the United States comes with Congress in recess after failing to reach agreement over how much funding could be used to fight an outbreak. The Obama administration has requested $1.9 billion to finance research, mosquito control and other prevention efforts. Scott said he has authorized $26.2 million to help fight the virus in the state.

Until now, the more than 1,600 Zika cases in the United States have stemmed from travel to another country with active transmission, as well as a small number of cases of apparent sexual transmission by a person infected outside of the country.

Puerto Rico is grappling with a Zika outbreak, with more than 4,600 cases of local transmission. U.S. health officials have predicted there will be hundreds of thousands of cases on the island territory before the current outbreak ends due to the prevalence of Zika-carrying mosquitoes and a lack of infrastructure to protect against insect bites.

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru, Zachary Fagenson in Miami; Writing by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Paul Simao)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-florida-idUSKCN1091NZ

niman · July 29, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott: 4 Zika cases likely came from Florida mosquitoes

Mike Schneider, Associated Press1:12 p.m. EDT July 29, 2016

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida likely has the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland, the state's governor said Friday.

No mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika, but one woman and three men in Miami-Dade and Broward counties likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said during a news conference in Orlando.

More than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported in the U.S., but the four patients in Florida would be the first not linked to travel outside the U.S. mainland.

"This is not just a Florida issue. It's a national issue — we just happen to be at the forefront," Scott said.

NAPLES DAILY NEWS

2 more mysterious Zika infections reported in South Florida

Health officials believe the infections occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the popular Wynwood arts district, Scott said.

It's the only part of the state currently being tested for potential local transmissions of Zika, Scott said. Women in the area who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant are urged to contact their doctors and the county health department for Zika prevention kits.

Federal health officials have not recommended that pregnant women avoid travel to South Florida.

"There are a series of factors we'll have to look at. The number of cases, the relationship in geography of those cases, how closely linked they are in time, as well as a series of other factors that we will use to determine what recommendations we issue in terms of travel guidance," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday.

Zika primarily spreads through bites from tropical mosquitoes, but it also can be spread through sex. In most people, the virus causes only mild illness, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the fetus. There is no vaccine.

NAPLESNEWS

Third case of Zika virus confirmed in Collier County

Since February, over 380 Zika cases related to travel have been confirmed in Florida, including 151 cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses is found in the southern U.S. While health officials have predicted that mosquitoes in the continental U.S. would begin spreading Zika this summer, they also have said they expect only isolated clusters of infections and not widespread outbreaks.

Florida should be able to contain the virus to an isolated area because its neighborhoods have better sanitation and living conditions than countries where Zika outbreaks have been widespread, said Adam Putnam, Florida's commissioner for agriculture and consumer services.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told blood centers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to suspend collections until they can screen each unit of blood for the Zika virus with authorized tests. Neighboring counties have been urged to implement the same precautions, and visitors to South Florida in the last month are encouraged to defer donations as well.

The FDA previously advised U.S. blood banks to refuse donations from people who recently traveled to areas outside the country that have Zika outbreaks.

Florida's main supplier of blood, OneBlood, said it was working as quickly as possible to comply with the FDA's recommendation and would start testing all its collections for Zika on Friday.

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Kay in Miami and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

http://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/florida/2016/07/29/gov-rick-scott-4-zika-cases-likely-came-florida-mosquitoes/87700702/

niman · July 29, 2016

4 Zika cases in Broward, Miami-Dade likely came from Florida mosquitoes, Gov. Scott says

The Associated Press

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Mosquitoes have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus on the U.S. mainland for the first time, Florida officials said Friday in a long-feared turn in the epidemic that is sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean.

Four recently infected people in the Miami area - one woman and three men - are believed to have caught the virus locally through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said at a news conference.

No mosquitoes in Florida have actually been found to be carrying Zika, despite the testing of 19,000 by the state lab. But other methods of Zika transmission, such as travel to a stricken country or sex with an infected person, have been ruled out.

U.S. health officials said they do not expect a widespread outbreak of the sort seen in Brazil and other countries. While officials have long predicted mosquitoes in the continental U.S. would begin spreading Zika this summer, they have also said they expect only isolated clusters of infections.

More than 1,650 people in the mainland U.S. have been infected with Zika in recent months. But the four people in Florida are believed to be first ones to contract the virus within the 50 states from mosquitoes.

"This is not just a Florida issue. It's a national issue - we just happen to be at the forefront," Scott said.

Florida agricultural officials immediately announced more aggressive mosquito-control efforts, and Florida politicians rushed to reassure tourists that it's still safe to visit the state.

Some medical experts said pregnant women should not travel to the Miami area, especially if it involves spending time outdoors. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not recommending people avoid visiting South Florida.

The virus is so mild that most people who are infected don't even know they are sick, but infection during pregnancy can cause babies to born with disastrously small heads and other severe brain-related defects.

The four Florida infections are thought to have occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the Wynwood arts district, the governor said.

The area, known for bold murals spray-painted across warehouses, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques, is rapidly gentrifying and has a number of construction sites where standing water can collect and serve as a breeding ground for the tropical mosquito that carries Zika.

People in Florida's Miami-Dade and Broward counties are being tested to learn whether there are more cases, the governor said.

"If I were a pregnant woman right now, I would go on the assumption that there's mosquito transmission all over the Miami area," warned Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical medicine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine.

He said that while health officials have reported four infections, there are probably more that have not been diagnosed, and that people should not be surprised if mosquitoes are soon found to be spreading Zika in Louisiana and Texas as well.

Earlier this week, federal authorities told blood centers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale areas this to stop collecting blood until they screen it for the virus.

Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, said the evidence suggests that the mosquito-borne transmission occurred several weeks ago over several city blocks.

Zika primarily spreads through bites from a specific species of tropical mosquito that can also carry other diseases, including dengue fever and chikungunya.

The mosquito is found in urban parts of the South. But it doesn't tolerate cool weather and won't be found in large numbers outside South Florida after the mosquito season peaks in August and September.

So far, there have been than 4,700 cases of mosquito-borne Zika in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

The cycle of infection inside a country can start when a mosquito bites a traveler who has returned home from abroad with the virus still lurking in his or her bloodstream. The mosquito then bites someone else, spreading the virus.

Health officials think that the U.S. should be able to avoid a major outbreak because of better sanitation, better mosquito control and more extensive use of window screens and air conditioners. Florida and other states have successfully fought off outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya in recent years.

It's not unusual that no mosquitoes have tested positive for Zika, said C. Roxanne Connelly, a medical entomology specialist at the University of Florida and a past president of the American Mosquito Control Association.

It can take a couple of weeks before an infected person shows symptoms, and by then the mosquitoes that transmitted the virus are dead, she said.

"Believe it or not, it's difficult to find positive mosquitoes even when you're in the middle of an epidemic," Connelly said. "Sometimes you don't know where these people were infected. At home? At work? Where they were playing baseball?"

Scott has allocated over $25 million in state funds for Zika response, and the White House and the CDC have provided over $10 million.

However, Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought to battle Zika.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz called that "regrettable" and said: "Today's news should be a wake-up call to Congress to get back to work."

Zika-fighting efforts include pesticide spraying, setting of traps and eliminating standing water around homes.

Marlon Lizano, a 40-year-old property manager, was eating outside at a restaurant in Wynwood when he learned it was apparently ground zero for Zika.

"Oh, wow, that's actually kind of scary," he said, adding that he will probably continue coming to the area for lunch, but from now on, "I will eat inside for sure. "

Jenny Gray, who is 27 and works in Wynwood for an art designer, said she will follow experts' advice to wear insect repellent.

"I don't plan on having kids now, but I do sometime in the future. Better to stay protected," she said. "That really does concern me."

But Phillip Lopez, a 34-year-old Wynwood resident who works at an outdoor bar and exercises outside, said: "It's a concern, but you got to do what you got to do. You can't not go outside."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/sfl-ap-four-zika-cases-florida-20160729-story.html

Edited July 29, 2016 by niman

niman · July 29, 2016

Gov. Scott: With Likely Mosquito-Borne Zika Cases, State Will Use Full Resources to Protect Floridians

On July 29, 2016, in News Releases, by Staff

ORLANDO, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Florida Department of Health (DOH) has concluded that four cases of the Zika virus are likely mosquito-borne. DOH knows that the four cases are in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. One of these cases involves a woman and the other three cases involve men. At this time, DOH believes that active transmissions of the Zika virus are occurring in one small area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown. The exact location is within the boundaries of the following area: NW 5th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38th Street to the north and NW/NE 20th Street to the south. This area is about 1 square mile and a map is below to detail the area. This is currently the only area of the state where DOH is testing to see if there are local transmissions of Zika. They are all active Zika cases and have not exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital.

Governor Scott said, “We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite. All four of these people live in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties and the Florida Department of Health believes that active transmissions of this virus could be occurring in one small area in Miami. While no mosquitoes have tested positive for the Zika virus, DOH is aggressively testing people in this area to ensure there are no other cases. If you live in this area and want to be tested, I urge you to contact the county health department which stands ready to assist you.

“Since our first travel-related case in February, Florida has taken an aggressive approach and committed state and local resources to combat this virus. Just like with a hurricane, we have worked hard to stay ahead of the spread of Zika and prepare for the worst, even as we hope for the best. Now that Florida has become the first state to have a local transmission, likely through a mosquito, we will continue to put every resource available to fighting the spread of Zika in our state. Last month, I used my emergency executive authority to allocate $26.2 million in state funds for Zika preparedness, prevention and response in Florida. I will continue to travel the state and speak with local leaders, ports and airports to ensure their needs are met. If it becomes clear more resources are needed, we will not hesitate to allocate them.

“We know this virus is most detrimental to expecting mothers. If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant and live in the impacted area, I urge you to contact your OB/GYN for guidance and to receive a Zika Prevention kit. I also ask every Floridian to take proper precautions by eliminating any standing water and wearing insect repellent.

“Following today’s news, I directed the Department of Health to immediately begin contracting with commercial pest control companies to increase spraying and mosquito abatement efforts in the impacted area. We know from our experience with successfully dealing with other mosquito-borne viruses in our state that through constant surveillance and immediate action that we will protect our families and visitors. We will continue this same approach as we work to combat the Zika virus in our state. Florida is an outdoors state with pristine beaches, award-winning state parks and world class fishing. We continue to welcome record visitors to Florida and will remind everyone in our state to take proper precautions and wear insect repellent.”

Governor Scott has directed DOH to activate the Joint Information Center (JIC) within the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure impacted areas have coordinated access to information and resources. As part of this effort, Governor Scott has directed DOH to contract with commercial pest control companies to enhance and expand mosquito mitigation and abatement, including increased spraying, in the impacted areas.

Governor Scott has also directed DOH to do the following response activities:

Provide $620,000 to OneBlood, the primary blood bank in the area, to establish appropriate blood screening. DOH will be working with FDA and blood establishments in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to test each individual unit of blood collected. Additionally, statewide DOH will ensure safe blood for pregnant women by screening units from counties without Zika.

Work with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue a Mosquito Declaration and ensure that Mosquito Control in the areas of concern have the resources they need to combat further local transmission. Miami-Dade and Broward County Mosquito Control Districts will receive $1.28 million in state funds through December to combat Zika.

Continue investigations in concert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure we learn all we can about Zika as an emerging disease.

Coordinate with OB/GYNs and organizations that serve pregnant woman in the impacted area to distribute Zika prevention kits to pregnant women.

Ongoing door-to-door outreach in the areas of concern with continued mosquito mitigation activities and repellant distribution.

Partner with VISIT FLORIDA to distribute educational items, repellant and Zika Prevention Kits for pregnant women to visitor centers in the impacted areas.

Partner with the Florida Department of Education to ensure that mosquito breeding source reduction and mitigation activities have occurred at all schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties ahead of children returning to classes this fall.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Adam H. Putnam said, “We are dedicated to protecting Floridians and visitors from Zika and will continue to support mosquito control programs throughout Florida with their surveillance and control efforts. Floridians can do their part by draining standing water surrounding their homes, as it can serve as breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that are capable of transmitting the virus.”

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip said, “As with most emerging health threats, we learn more about Zika each day but we recognize that the unknown can be scary especially for pregnant women. We’re committed to sharing as much as we can as soon as we can. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of all people in Florida and a big part of that is being accessible. If you have questions, please call the Zika hotline at 1-855-622-6735.”

###

http://www.flgov.com/2016/07/29/gov-scott-with-likely-mosquito-borne-zika-cases-state-will-use-full-resources-to-protect-floridians/

niman · July 29, 2016

JULY 29, 2016 9:50 AM

Zika “active transmission area” in Miami, health department says

How Zika spreads (and who’s to blame) 1:13

1 of 3

The mosquito kills nearly 750,000 people each year. Malaria is the cause for the majority of these deaths, but a Zika outbreak has the Americas scared of this insect. This is how the insect spreads disease to its victims. Sohail Al-Jamea and Meta Viers McClatchy

BY DAVID J. NEAL

[email protected]

Florida’s Department of Health announced there’s a “high likelihood” of four locally-transmitted cases of the Zika virus in Miami-Dade and Broward County, the first locally-transmitted cases in the United States, and “believes there’s an active transmission area” that includes Wynwood, Midtown and the Design District areas of Miami.

The department defined the transmission area’s boundaries as U.S. 1 (Biscayne Boulevard) to the east; Northwest Fifth Avenue to the west; 20th Street on the south; and 38th Street on the north.

“While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area,” the department declared in a news release.

“The department is actively conducting door-to-door outreach and urine sample collection in the impacted area and will share more details as they become available. The results from these efforts will help department determine the number of people affected. These local cases were identified by clinicians who brought them to the attention of the department. In addition, blood banks in the area are currently excluding donations from impacted areas until screening protocols are in place.”

Of the 331 cases of Zika the Department of Health separates by county, 99 come from Miami-Dade, more than the next two counties (55 in Broward, 40 in Orange) combined. Those numbers don’t count the 55 pregnant women confirmed with the virus. On June 28, Miami-Dade saw the first baby born in Florida with the Zika virus. The health department said the mother, a Haitian citizen, contracted Zika outside the United States.

In a Friday morning news conference, Florida Governor Rick Scott said he’s written a request to President Barack Obama Zika preparedness items for Florida health departments.

“I used my emergency executive authority to allocate $26.2 million in state funds for Zika preparedness, prevention and response in Florida,” Scott said.

David J. Neal: 305-376-3559, @DavidJNeal

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article92563452.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article92563452.html#storylink=cpy

niman · July 29, 2016

JUL 29, 2016 AT 6:04 PM

Zika Has Made Its Way To Florida Mosquitoes

zika-4x3.jpg?quality=70&strip=all&w=575&

When the news broke Friday that four people with Zika virus in southern Florida had likely been infected by mosquitoes in a tiny section of Miami — in what would be the first known Zika infection via mosquito in the continental U.S. — one of the editors here at FiveThirtyEight asked how sure officials could be that the Zika came from mainland mosquitoes. None of these winged menaces has been caught with the virus yet; shouldn’t we wait until that happens before drawing any conclusions? And, we wondered, why is the state only considering a small neighborhood an active risk for transmitting the virus?

Finding mosquitoes with Zika is not an easy task. In Brazil, there have been more than 66,000 confirmed cases of the virus, which can be dangerous for pregnant women, who are at risk of giving birth to infants with neurological defects as a result of the infection. Brazil has had 1,687 confirmed cases of brain-related birth defects in newborns associated with Zika since the first case was identified in April 2015. But it wasn’t until May of this year that researchers found a mosquito in the wild that was carrying Zika. As Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a call with the media Friday, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Saying with certainty how someone with Zika acquired it is nearly impossible. Until now, most Zika cases reported in the U.S. have been in people who had traveled to or lived in a Zika-affected country. There have also been reported cases of sexual transmission. But in all four of the Florida cases — which were confirmed earlier this month — sex and travel have been ruled out as causes, according to the CDC, and public health officials are operating under the assumption that the infections took place in Miami.

That the state investigation of active transmission of Zika is focusing on a narrow area just north of downtown Miami was striking as well. It mostly consists of a small neighborhood called Wynwood, a rapidly gentrifying area that’s home to art galleries, restaurants, bars, businesses and residences and thus attracts visitors from many parts of the city. Although the CDC and the Florida Department of Health have provided only limited information so far, Frieden offered some explanation for why they have homed in on that area. For two of the infected people, Wynwood is the only known location where their paths coincided. That connection and the fact that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, believed to be the main type that transmits Zika, travel a maximum of a few blocks in their lifetime have led state epidemiologists to believe the infection occurred in that area.

Because Florida sprays for mosquitoes near the residence of anyone identified as having Zika, even those who acquired it abroad, the state has been spraying in Wynwood for several weeks. Frieden said that for now, health officials believe the risk in the neighborhood is under control; they will be concerned only if they start seeing more cases in a few weeks.

Frieden stressed that we should expect to see more cases of locally acquired Zika in the future but that it’s unlikely that the U.S. will experience a major outbreak similar to those that Brazil and other Latin American countries have had. One reason may be that people here spend more time indoors with window screens and air conditioners than in those other countries. Also, past experience with viruses such as chikungunya and dengue show that the U.S. is not generally susceptible to major outbreaks of mosquito-borne viruses.

That is, of course, except for Puerto Rico, which has had locally acquired Zika since December. As of July 7, at least 5,582 people had been diagnosed with the virus there, including 672 pregnant women.

Anna Maria Barry-Jester reports on public health, food and culture for FiveThirtyEight.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/zika-has-made-its-way-to-florida-mosquitoes/

niman · July 30, 2016

U.S. confirms Florida Zika cases are first local transmission in any state

By Lena H. Sun and Brady Dennis July 29 at 4:40 PM

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Zika: 'The federal government needs to do their part'

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on asking for aid to battle the Zika virus: 'This is a national issue, we're just at the front of it.' (Reuters)

Florida and federal officials on Friday confirmed the first local spread of the Zika virus through infected mosquitoes in the continental United States.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) made the announcement following a state health department investigation into four suspected cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Scott said transmission was confined to a small neighborhood just north of downtown Miami and involved one woman and three men.

“We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite," he said during a news conference. "All four of these people live in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and the Florida Department of Health believes that active transmissions of this virus could be occurring in one small area in Miami."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been closely coordinating with Florida and sent a medical epidemiologist at the state's request, made a similar announcement a short time later that left no doubt about the genesis of the cases.

"These are the first cases of locally transmitted Zika virus in the continental United States," CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a news briefing Friday. "As we have anticipated, Zika is now here."

Frieden praised state officials for responding rapidly with aggressive mosquito-control measures and a community-wide search for additional Zika cases. Because the virus can have devastating consequences for a fetus, the CDC recommends that pregnant women or women thinking about becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika-affected regions. However, Frieden said no travel limitations in this country are currently warranted.

"We don’t expect widespread transmission in the continental United States," he said. "That is not the situation we're in today."

But if more people become infected despite ongoing mosquito-control measures, "this would be concerning and warrant further advice and action." The CDC will reassess daily and revise its recommendations accordingly, he said.

The infections occurred in early July in a several-block radius of Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, a popular restaurant and entertainment area. The individuals became sick a week later and were diagnosed a few days after that. Strong evidence suggests that at least two of the people were bitten at work sites near each other in that area, Frieden said.

Lyle Petersen, who is managing the CDC's Zika response, said the agency expects "there may be additional cases of ‘homegrown’ Zika in the coming weeks."

Scott said state officials continue to "put every resource available into fighting the spread of Zika in our state," adding that Florida has been preparing for this type of situation for months, much in the way it prepares for hurricanes.

"We know this virus is most detrimental to expecting mothers," he said. "If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant and live in the impacted area, I urge you to contact your OB/GYN for guidance and to receive a Zika prevention kit. I also ask every Floridian to take proper precautions by eliminating any standing water and wearing insect repellent."

[Without federal funding, counties brace for Zika on their own]

The announcement had been expected since officials revealed a week ago that they were investigating a case of non-travel-related infection. They subsequently acknowledged an additional case in Miami-Dade County and two more suspected cases in neighboring Broward County. Frieden said Friday that all four individuals were infected in Wynwood but that two live in Broward County.

No mosquitoes have yet tested positive for the virus, though. Frieden explained that confirming infections in mosquitoes is much harder than confirming them in people -- which is why there can be local transmission even in the absence of positive insect tests.

Celeste Philip, the state's surgeon general and health department secretary, said officials have been successful in limiting transmission of similar viruses carried by the same mosquito species in the past and expect they will do so for Zika.

"We believe at this time, the likelihood of ongoing transmission is low," she said.

Yet the risk of a local Zika outbreak prompted the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to direct all blood collection centers in Miami-Dade, Broward and surrounding areas to stop accepting donations until the blood can be tested for the virus.

[FDA temporarily halts blood donation in two Florida counties over Zika fears]

In a statement Friday, OneBlood, the main organization collecting blood in Florida said that, effective immediately, all blood collections in its service area in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina will be tested for the virus using an experimental donor-screening test. It said operations remain business as usual.

Florida, Texas and other parts of the Gulf Coast are considered at highest risk for local spread of the mosquito-borne virus. The region is home to the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for transmitting Zika. Both states have had local cases of dengue and chikungunya, related viruses that are spread by the same mosquito species.

Florida already has 386 travel-related Zika cases, more than any other southern state. Of those, 55 involve pregnant women. Miami-Dade has 99 travel-related cases, the most in the state.

Stephen Higgs, director of Kansas State University's Biosecurity Research Institute, explains the anatomy of a mosquito. (Kansas State University)

Philip said transmission is confined to a one-square-mile area, which falls largely within the 33127 Zip code. Its boundaries are NW Fifth Avenue on the west, U.S. Route 1 on the east, NW/NE 38th Street on the north, and NW/NE 20th Street on the south. It is the only place where state officials are testing for local transmission.

According to Census Bureau data, the area is home to about 30,000 people, many of them black and Hispanic. More than one-third of residents there are foreign-born, and more than 40 percent live below the poverty level.

Officials have been spraying in targeted neighborhoods and trapping mosquitoes, as well as going door to door to interview and collect blood and urine samples from more than 200 people to test for the virus. They also distributed Zika-prevention kits and repellent to local obstetrician offices and at local county health offices.

[CDC issues updated guidance for Zika testing in pregnant women]

Karen Harris, an obstetrician who heads Florida's chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the news in recent days has been worrisome to clinicians and their patients.

"There is huge concern," said Harris, who practices in northern Florida. One of the biggest challenges is that four out of five people infected with Zika won't have symptoms. "All the obstetricians have been very proactive with patients, but now we really have to step it up," she said.

Adam Putnam, Florida's agriculture commissioner, said Friday that officials have tested more than 19,000 mosquitoes and have not found Zika. Even so, experts say finding a virus present in specific mosquitoes can be a needle-in-a-haystack endeavor.

Widespread transmission is less likely because "there are significant differences in the residential neighborhoods between Florida and some of the other impacted countries,” Putnam said. He cited air conditioning and well-sealed houses with screens on windows.

“Let’s be very clear about that," he said. "The opportunity for [mosquito] habitat in Florida, while Florida is a warm, wet, subtropical climate, is very different than the nations that have seen much, much higher incidence of Zika spread — largely because higher standards of living in the state of Florida."

Scott said President Obama called him Wednesday and said the administration was going to send $5.6 million in aid to Florida to help in its Zika fight. To date, CDC said it has provided Florida more than $8 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness funding that can be used for response efforts.

Still, Scott said the lack of federal aid thus far on Zika has been "disappointing."

“I went to Washington and met with members of Congress to talk about the funding. I talked to the White House, the [health and human services] secretary," he said. "Congress didn’t fund, and they went on recess.”

Congress left town in mid-July without finalizing legislation to combat the virus, much to the dismay of public health officials, infectious disease experts and children's advocates. Health officials have warned that the $589 million the Obama administration recently redirected from fighting Ebola to combating Zika is insufficient and that lawmakers' failure to approve new funding is delaying work on a vaccine, improved diagnostics to test for Zika and research on the long-term consequences of the virus during pregnancy.

[Lifelong care, heartache ahead for babies born with Zika in the U.S.]

"I would expect that Congress can do more to help us, as I’ve said all along,” Scott said. “The federal government needs to do their part. This is not just a Florida issue. This is a U.S. issue, it’s a national issue. We’re just at the front of it.”

White House spokesman Erik Schultz said Friday that the president had been briefed on the finding in Florida and directed federal agencies to not only monitor the ongoing situation but provide resources and support. Schultz added that Congress should approve the administration's $1.9 billion request to combat Zika outbreaks in the United States.

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who said the reports highlight the seriousness of the Zika threat, called for the House and Senate to return to Washington immediately to provide the needed funding. "Things will only get worse if Republicans continue their refusal to work with Democrats on a bipartisan response," he said.

Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, who represents a congressional district in southwest Florida, reiterated his call for full emergency funding for Zika. “We should be laser-focused on protecting the most vulnerable among us," he said. "Florida is ground zero for Zika.”

Advocacy groups and others also urged Congress to act.

“This is the news we’ve been dreading," said Edward McCabe, chief medical officer at the March of Dimes. "It’s only a matter of time before babies are born with microcephaly, a severe brain defect, due to local transmission of Zika in the continental U.S."

In comments that seemed to be aimed as much at tourists as residents, Scott stressed how the state has successfully dealt with previous local transmission of dengue and chikungunya and how it will use the same approach now.

"Florida is an outdoors state with pristine beaches, award-winning state parks and world-class fishing," he said, adding that the state continues to welcome visitors and remind them to take proper precautions and wear insect repellent.

The virus is linked to microcephaly and other serious birth defects. Zika spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), but it can also be spread during sex by an infected person. Most people with Zika won’t have symptoms, but for those who do, the illness is usually mild.

Federal health officials have said they would send a rapid-response team to any community on the mainland and in Hawaii where Zika begins to be transmitted locally — even if only a single case of infection is confirmed. The CDC also is prepared to deploy experts to help state and local authorities in monitoring cases, performing laboratory tests and increasing mosquito control as part of a multilevel response plan. The teams of 10 to 15 people will go if invited by the state.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/07/29/florida-announces-zika-is-likely-spreading-by-mosquitoes-in-the-continental-u-s-2/

niman · July 30, 2016

The Latest: Senator seeks reconvening of Congress over Zika

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Latest on the Zika virus in Florida (all times local):

4 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconvene Congress so lawmakers can pass an emergency spending bill to fight the spread of the Zika virus.

Nelson sent McConnell a letter Friday after health officials confirmed four people in South Florida likely contracted Zika from mosquito bites. It is the first local transmission in the U.S. mainland.

The Republican-controlled Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought for mosquito control, vaccine development and other steps to battle Zika.

Nelson, a Florida Democrat, says the time is now for Congress to act.

___

4 p.m.

Some residents of the Wynwood neighbourhood of Miami say they plan to stop eating outside now that four people likely contracted the Zika virus from mosquito bites in South Florida.

State officials on Friday pinpointed the cases to the Wynwood area, a trendyneighbourhood of art galleries and boutiques.

Property manager Marlon Lizano says the news is scary. He regularly eats lunch outside but now says he will start eating indoors.

Jenny Gray, who works for an art designer in Wynwood, says she is concerned and plans to start wearing bug repellant.

___

2:20 p.m.

Puerto Rico health officials are reporting a total of 7,296 Zika cases in the U.S. territory that include 788 pregnant women.

Friday's announcement comes as Puerto Rico prepares to use the organic larvicide Bti to fight the mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects.

Health Secretary Ana Rius said 74 people have been hospitalized including 23 diagnosed with a temporary paralysis condition known as Guillain-Barre that has been linked to Zika.

She said all 78 of the island's municipalities have reported Zika cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that hundreds of children could be born with birth defects in the coming year. The agency said Puerto Rico is facing a silent epidemic because eight of 10 people have no symptoms.

___

2 p.m.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has issued a statewide mosquito declaration following the news that South Florida has the first four cases in the U.S. mainland of the Zika virus transmitted by mosquito.

Putnam said on Friday that the declaration allows aggressive mosquito-control efforts to be taken within at least a 200-yard radius around the home of someone who has gotten infected by a mosquito.

Those efforts include spraying insecticide and chemicals that kill larvae and conducting mosquito surveillance.

Putnam says Floridians should wear bug spray and drain bodies of standing water.

___

1:50 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio says the announcement that South Florida has four cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika virus isn't just a public health crisis but an economic one as well for the tourist-dependent state.

Rubio said Friday during a campaign event in the Miami suburb, Doral, that the federal government needs to quickly distribute money to combat the spread of the virus.

The Florida Republican says the news may make visitors think twice about coming to Florida. The state had 106 million visitors last year.

Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought for mosquito control, vaccine development and other steps to battle Zika.

Rubio is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate after dropping out of the U.S. presidential race earlier this year.

___

1 p.m.

President Obama's spokesman says Florida needs more federal money to limit the spread of the Zika virus.

White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said Friday's announcement that South Florida has four mosquito-transmitted cases should be a wake-up call for Congress "to get back to work."

Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought for mosquito control, vaccine development and other steps to battle Zika.

Schultz called that "regrettable."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has provided Florida $8 million in Zika-specific funding, and the White House has said the state can anticipate receiving another $5.6 million in Zika funding through a grant.

___

1 p.m.

An entomologist at the University of Florida says it's not surprising that no mosquitoes have tested positive for Zika even though four residents in South Florida have been found to be the first cases of mosquito-borne Zika virus in the U.S. mainland.

Roxanne Connelly said Friday that finding positive mosquitoes is like chasing a moving target.

Connelly talked about the difficulties in finding positive mosquitoes after Gov. Rick Scott confirmed that the three men and one woman in the Miami area likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites.

Connelly says it can take a couple of weeks before an infected person starts exhibiting symptoms and by then the mosquitoes that transmitted the virus are dead.

She says it's also difficult to determine where someone was infected, whether it was at home, at work or somewhere else.

She says during a recent outbreak in the African nation Senegal, scientists tested 11,000 mosquitoes but only found 31 bugs that tested positive for Zika.

___

11:30 a.m.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs says potential visitors to Florida shouldn't think twice about coming to the Sunshine State.

Jacob's jurisdiction covers the Orlando area's major theme parks in the Orlando area, and she spoke to reporters Friday after Gov. Rick Scott announced that South Florida has the first four cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes in the U.S. mainland.

There have been no mosquito-transmitted cases in central Florida yet. But Orlando was the country's most visited metro area last year with 66 million tourists, and tourism is Florida's biggest industry.

Jacobs says Florida's theme parks have some of the best mosquito control measures in place that she knows of and that the parks are safe.

But she encourages visitors to take precautions such as wearing bug spray and getting rid of any standing water they may have.

___

9:50 a.m.

Florida's governor says the state has concluded that four mysterious Zika infections likely came from mosquitoes in the Miami area.

Gov. Rick Scott said Friday that no mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika. But he says one woman and three men in Miami-Dade and Broward counties likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites.

More than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported in the U.S., but the four patients in Florida would be the first not linked to travel outside the U.S. mainland.

Scott says health officials believe the infections occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami.

Zika primarily spreads through bites from tropical mosquitoes. In most people, the virus causes only mild illness, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the fetus.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/world/2016/07/29/the-latest-senator-seeks-reconvening-of-congress-over-zika.html

niman · July 30, 2016

Mosquitoes likely transmitted Zika to people in this Miami neighborhood, according to the Florida health department.
Florida Department of Health

Zika has gained a foothold in Florida but is unlikely to become widespread in the United States

By Jon CohenJul. 29, 2016 , 3:00 PM

It’s little surprise that the Florida Department of Health confirmed this morning that there’s a “high likelihood” that local transmission of Zika has occurred in the United States for the first time, says Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. “I can tell you right here today I’m almost certain that we’re going to see more,” Fauci said this morning at an event held by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. “The critical issue is how do you respond to that.”

The four cases appear to have been infected in early July just north of downtown Miami in an area of about 2.5 square kilometers, the Florida health department reported after doing intensive investigations to rule out the possibility that the patients were infected by traveling to affected countries or via sex with infected people.

The department released a map featuring a rectangle where transmission has likely occurred—an area whose boundaries are "NW 5th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38th Street to the north and NW/NE 20th Street to the south," the department says. At a press conference held by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta later in the day, CDC Director Tom Frieden explained that the area had high levels of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a species known to spread the Zika virus, although no infected mosquitoes have yet been found.

The four infected live in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but Frieden noted that at least two worked in the area inside the rectangle. He went further than the Florida health department when asked about his level of certainty that these cases are truly local transmission. “We consider this and are proceeding as though it is confirmed local, mosquito-borne transmission,” he said.

Scientists had predicted that Zika would gain a foothold in Florida this year, based on the heavy volume of travel from Latin America and the presence of A. aegyptimosquitoes that can transmit the virus. There have already been nearly 400 cases of travel-related, or "imported" Zika in Florida, which increased the odds that a mosquito would bite an infected person and transmit it to others. Indeed, imported cases were increasing at such a fast clip that “I had to revise my slide twice a day,” Fauci said. (Another city that scientists say is likely to see local Zika transmission is Brownsville, Texas, which also has large populations of A. aegypti and a very busy border crossing with Mexico.)

Models suggest that the cases don't forebode a big epidemic in the United States. Other viral diseases spread by the same mosquitoes—including dengue and chikungunya—that have caused massive epidemics south of the U.S. border have triggered only small outbreaks in the United States. Scientists cite a variety of factors for the marked difference, including lower mosquito densities and the fact that people spend more time inside. “Very aggressive mosquito abatement” in Florida and other states will also help make it “unlikely” that the continental United States would see a big epidemic, Fauci said. “That doesn’t mean we should relax and be cavalier,” he added. “We’ve got to be very aggressive about the things that you do to prevent mosquito transmission. You get rid of the mosquitoes, you get rid of their breeding place, and you have the population—particularly pregnant women if they’re living in that area—to protect themselves against mosquitoes.”

The four Zika cases in Miami have triggered far more attention than the cases of local dengue and chikungunya transmission, Fauci says. “Hardly anybody paid any attention to it,” he said. “I bet nobody even remembers reading major stories about dengue in Florida or chikungunya in Florida or Texas, but it happened.”

Frieden noted that blood banks in the affected area have started to screen for Zika virus infection. He stressed that pregnant women in particular should take precautions, including using insect repellant and long clothing.

So far, Congress has not heeded the White House’s call for emergency funding to respond to Zika. “If we had more resources we’d be able to mount a more robust response,” Frieden said. If new money does not surface soon, Fauci warned that human trials of Zika vaccines might be delayed. “I have moved a fair amount of money from other accounts to do what I think is a very proactive, full-court press on the research,” he said. “Nothing has substantially slowed—yet. I am preciously close to the point where I don’t have any money and things are going to start slowing.”

niman · August 10, 2016

Investigators were led to Wynwood, a neighborhood full of hip restaurants and art galleries but also vacant storefronts and residential blocks, by two other cases: infected men who work in businesses about 400 feet from each other there, according to the report.

One, a man in his late 20s known as Broward #2, has a job at a business that does work in Brazil and has several employees who travel there frequently, according to the report. The report didn’t name the business or say what kind of work it does.

The patient recently had a houseguest from Brazil, where an explosive epidemic last year led to nearly 166,000 suspected infections and has been tied to birth defects in hundreds of newborns. Fourteen of the roughly 30 employees who work at the business in Wynwood reported they had typical Zika symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis from early June to mid-July, according to the report.

The other infected man, a 26-year-old known as Miami-Dade #2, works at a business nearby with 11 employees. He and a customer were the only ones to report Zika symptoms, according to the report.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/pregnant-zika-victim-alerted-officials-to-florida-outbreak-1470821406

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