CDC Issues Wynwood Area Florida Zika Travel Warning

[niman]

The CDC has now issued a notice to women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid unnecessary travel to the impacted area that is just north of downtown Miami (see map below of the one square mile area). As directed by Governor Scott last week, DOH has activated the Joint Information Center (JIC) within the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure the impacted area has coordinated access to information and resources. 

http://www.flgov.com/2016/08/01/gov-scott-florida-calls-on-cdc-to-activate-emergency-response-team-following-confirmed-mosquito-borne-transmissions/

 

Edited August 1, 2016 by niman

[niman]

Gov. Scott: Florida Calls on CDC to Activate Emergency Response Team Following Confirmed Mosquito-Borne Transmissions

On August 1, 2016, in News Releases, by Staff

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Florida Department of Health (DOH) has identified 10 additional people in Florida with the Zika virus who likely contracted it through a mosquito bite. This brings the total number of people with locally transmitted Zika to 14. DOH believes that active transmissions of the Zika virus are still only occurring in the one small area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown, that was announced on Friday (see map below). This remains the only area of the state where DOH has confirmed there are ongoing local transmissions of Zika. Among the 10 new individuals announced today, six are asymptomatic and were identified from the door-to-door community survey that DOH is conducting.

Following today’s announcement, Governor Scott has called upon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to activate a CDC Emergency Response Team (CERT) to assist the Florida Department of Health and other partners in their investigation, sample collection, and mosquito control efforts.

Governor Scott said, “Today, DOH has confirmed that 10 additional people have contracted the Zika virus locally, likely through a mosquito bite. DOH has been testing individuals in three locations in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties for possible local transmissions through mosquito bites. Based on DOH’s investigations, two locations have been ruled out for possible local transmissions of the Zika virus. DOH believes local transmissions are still only occurring in the same square mile area of Miami.

“Following today’s announcement, I have requested that the CDC activate their Emergency Response Team to assist DOH in their investigation, research and sample collection efforts. Their team will consist of public health experts whose role is to augment our response efforts to confirmed local transmissions of the Zika virus.

“While we continue to learn more about this virus each day, we know that it is most harmful to pregnant women and their babies. For women who live or work in the impacted area and are either pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, I urge you to contact your OB/GYN for guidance and to receive a Zika prevention kit.

“Florida has a proven track record of success when it comes to managing similar mosquito-borne viruses. We will continue to keep our residents and visitors safe utilizing constant surveillance and aggressive strategies, such as increased mosquito spraying, that have allowed our state to fight similar viruses. While I encourage all residents and visitors to continue to use precaution by draining standing water and wearing bug spray, Florida remains safe and open for business. This year, we have already welcomed a record 30 million tourists and we look forward to welcoming more visitors to Florida this summer.”

DOH has conducted testing for the Zika virus for more than 2,300 people statewide. Since DOH began their investigation into possible local transmissions of Zika on July 7^th, more than 200 individuals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have been tested for the virus who live or work near the individuals that have already been confirmed with likely mosquito-borne transmissions. Of the 14 individuals identified, two are women and 12 are men.

The CDC has now issued a notice to women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid unnecessary travel to the impacted area that is just north of downtown Miami (see map below of the one square mile area). As directed by Governor Scott last week, DOH has activated the Joint Information Center (JIC) within the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure the impacted area has coordinated access to information and resources. DOH has also begun the process to contract with commercial pest control companies to enhance and expand mosquito mitigation and abatement, including increased spraying, in the impacted area.

On February 12^th, 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 number for the Zika Virus Information Hotline is 1-855-622-6735.

The exact location of where DOH believes there are active transmissions of the Zika virus is within the boundaries of the following area: NW 5^th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38^thStreet to the north and NW/NE 20^th Street to the south. This area is about one square mile and a map is below to detail the area. 

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[niman]

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/cdc-zika-warning-miami-226508

[niman]

CDC issues travel advisory for parts of Miami-Dade Florida

 

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Area of North Miami where the Zika Virus has been transmitted by mosquitoes

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FILE - This 2006 file photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is behind the large outbreaks of Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean. On Friday, July 29, 2016, Florida said four Zika infections in the Miami area are likely the first caused by mosquito bites in the continental U.S. All previous U.S. cases have been linked to outbreak countries. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP, File)

Miami, Fla — 

The Center for Disease Control issued a travel advisory for parts of Miami-Dade Florida after 14 people contracted Zika virus from mosquito bites. 

The warning, shown below, came as part of a press release from Governor Rick Scott announcing the new cases. 

CDC has now issued a notice to women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid unnecessary travel to the impacted area that is just north of downtown Miami (see map below of the one square mile area).As directed by Governor Scott last week, DOH has activated the Joint Information Center (JIC) within the State Emergency Operations Center to ensure the impacted area has coordinated access to information and resources. DOH has also begun the process to contract with commercial pest control companies to enhance and expand mosquito mitigation and abatement, including increased spraying, in the impacted area.

The exact location of where DOH believes there are active transmissions of the Zika virus 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 one square mile and a map is below to detail the area

Officials in Brittain issued a precautionary notice last week when only four cases were known, advising pregnant women to avoid all non-essential trips to Florida. 

If you have any travel plans the Florida Department of Health recommends the following precautions:

• Use insect repellant with any of the following active ingredients
  • DEET (up to 30%)
  • Picaridin
  • Oil of lemon eucalyptus
  • Para-menthane diol
  • IR3535
  • Always follow product label instructions and make sure repellent is age-appropriate.
  • It is safe for pregnant or nursing women to use EPA-approved repellants if applied according to package label instructions.
  • Apply repellent on bare skin or clothing, not under clothing.

• Cover skin with long-sleeved shirts and long pants
  • Apply a permethrin repellent directly to clothing or purchase pre-treated clothing. Follow the manufacturer’s directions and do not apply directly to the skin.

•  Keep mosquitoes out of hotel rooms
  • Choose a hotel or lodging with air conditioning or screens on windows and doors.
  • Sleep under a mosquito bed net when outside or in a room that is not screened.

For more information on mosquito bite prevention visit: Mosquito-borne Prevention

http://www.news965.com/news/news/local/cdc-issues-travel-advisory-parts-miami-dade-florid/nr75h/

 

[niman]

Advice for people living in or traveling to Wynwood, a neighborhood in Florida

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/intheus/florida-update.html

 

 

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Area in Miami, FL where Zika virus is being spread by mosquitoes.

The Florida Department of Health has identified an area in one neighborhood of Miami where Zika is being spread by mosquitoes. This guidance is for people who live in or traveled to this area any time after June 15 (based on the earliest time symptoms can start and the maximum 2-week incubation period for Zika virus).

Pregnant women and their partners

• Pregnant women should not travel to this area. 
• Pregnant women and their partners living in or traveling to this area should follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
• Women and men who live in or traveled to this area and who have a pregnant sex partner should use condoms or other barriers to prevent infection every time they have sex or not have sex during the pregnancy.
• All pregnant women in the United States should be assessed for possible Zika virus exposure during each prenatal care visit. 
• Pregnant women who live in or frequently travel to this area should be tested in the first and second trimester of pregnancy.
• Pregnant women with possible Zika exposure and signs or symptoms of Zika should be tested for Zika.
• Pregnant women who traveled to or had unprotected sex with a partner that traveled to or lives in this area should talk to their healthcare provider and should be tested for Zika.

Couples thinking about getting pregnant

• Women with Zika should wait at least 8 weeks and men with Zika should wait at least 6 months after symptoms began to try to get pregnant.
• Women and men who live in or frequently travel to this area should talk to their healthcare provider.
• Women and men who traveled to this area should wait at least 8 weeks before trying to get pregnant.

[niman]

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U.S. Edition+

CDC issues historic travel warning over Miami Zika outbreak
by Sandee LaMotte, CNN
Updated 5:43 PM ET, Mon August 1, 2016

Story highlights
The CDC issued a travel warning after local transmission was reported in Miami
Pregnant women should avoid travel to one Miami neighborhood
(CNN)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an unprecedented travel warning Monday, advising pregnant women and their partners not to travel to a small community just north of downtown Miami, where Zika is actively circulating. This is the first time the CDC has warned people not to travel to an American neighborhood for fear of catching an infectious disease, according to agency spokesman Tom Skinner.

The warning came after 10 additional people in Florida were found to have been infected with Zika virus after being bitten by local mosquitoes, bringing the total to 14.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden announced the development in separate news conferences Monday. The new cases were found by door-to-door surveys of 200 people in their homes and businesses, and they were identified by urine and blood samples that tested positive for the virus or an antibody.
10 more cases of local Zika transmission in Florida
Zika in Florida: 10 more cases of local transmission
Late last week, Florida state health officials confirmed that four people had obtained Zika from mosquitoes in the same 150-square-meter area. It's a mixed-use development with upscale as well as economically stressed businesses and homes, which Frieden said complicates mosquito control efforts.
"New test measurements over the weekend showed a risk of continued active transmission in that area," Frieden said. "Because of this finding, we are advising pregnant women not to travel to that area and if they have traveled there on or after June 15 to visit their health care provider for testing."
Zika virus is circulating in a small community north of downtown Miami.
Zika virus is circulating in a small community north of downtown Miami.
June 15 is the earliest day, said Frieden, that local health officials believe the mosquitoes could have passed the virus, which they obtained by biting a person who had returned to the United States with the disease. Since four out of five people with Zika have no symptoms, it's possible that "person zero" had no idea they were infectious.
"With 40 million travelers to and from areas where Zika is actively circulating, many can come back who feel perfectly fine," Frieden said. "But the virus could be hitchhiking in their blood. That's why everyone who travels to one of those areas should use insect repellent for at least three weeks after they return."
Additional precautions recommended by the CDC about the Miami outbreak include:
Pregnant women who live in or travel to the area should be tested for Zika infection in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, even if they have no symptoms of the virus.
Pregnant women and their male and female partners who live in the area should prevent mosquito bites and use proper sexual protection for the length of the pregnancy, or abstain from sex altogether.
Male or female partners of pregnant women who have traveled to this area should use safe sex measures for the rest of the pregnancy.
Women and men who have traveled to the affected area should wait eight weeks to conceive after their return, while men with symptoms should wait a full six months.
Scott wasted no time in asking for CDC assistance.
"Following today's announcement, I have requested that the Centers for Disease Control activate their emergency response team to assist (the Department of Health) in their investigation, research and sample collection efforts," Scott said. "Their team will consist of public health experts whose role is to augment our response efforts to confirmed local transmissions of the Zika virus."
CDC personnel are already on the ground in Florida, Frieden said, with more members of the community emergency response team arriving over the next few days. Their first task will be to understand why local mosquito control efforts failed.
"In Miami, aggressive control measures are not working as well as we would like," he said. "The mosquitoes could be resistant to the pesticides being used, or the mosquitoes could be hiding in what we call 'cryptic' breeding places that are hard to find, like very small amounts of water where they can hatch.
Everything you need to know about Zika  

Everything you need to know about Zika 01:42
"The Aedes aegypti is a really tough mosquito to control," Frieden added. "When Key West had an outbreak of dengue, which is carried by the same mosquito, that outbreak continued for more than a year. It's a demonstration of how intensive the efforts need to be to control the mosquito."
On-the-ground testing could take several weeks, Frieden said, stressing that precautions should continue to be taken by everyone living in the area or traveling to and from it. Those precautions include applying insect repellent containing 25% DEET to uncovered skin, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants that are thick enough to repel a mosquito bite, using air conditioning and screens on doors, and removing standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
Join the conversation
See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

U.S. health officials had warned that there would be local transmission of the virus from mosquitoes but say they don't expect it to be widespread, as has been seen in Puerto Rico and throughout the Americas. That's based on outbreaks of two similar mosquito-borne diseases, dengue fever and chikungunya. The reason is largely because of living conditions, including mosquito-control efforts and regular use of air-conditioning.
The vast majority of cases of Zika in the United States have been from travel to other countries where the virus is actively circulating, a total of more than 60 countries and territories.
Nearly every state is reporting cases of the virus; only Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska have not reported it. Until the announcement Friday in Florida, none of those cases was from local mosquito transmission. Fifteen of those individuals were infected by sexual transmission, and there is one case of a laboratory-acquired infection.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/01/health/cdc-miami-florida-zika-travel-warning/

 

Edited August 1, 2016 by niman

[niman]

Officials Warn Pregnant Women to Avoid Miami Neighborhood Affected by Zika
Recommendation follows identification of 10 additional cases in area, bringing the total to 14
A Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector checks a property for mosquitoes or breeding areas in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. ENLARGE
A Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector checks a property for mosquitoes or breeding areas in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. PHOTO: JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
By BETSY MCKAY and  MELANIE EVANS
Updated Aug. 1, 2016 5:40 p.m. ET
14 COMMENTS
An outbreak of Zika in Miami prompted the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday to warn pregnant women to avoid the neighborhood where officials believe mosquitoes may be transmitting the virus, or take precautions if they live or work there.

The agency took the rare step after an investigation by Florida health officials turned up 10 new cases of Zika in the same neighborhood where they had already identified four infections. The outbreak, now involving 14 people, is the first believed to be caused by mosquitoes in the continental U.S.

MORE ABOUT ZIKA

Four Zika Infections in Florida Likely First in U.S. From Mosquito Bites (July 29, 2016)
FDA Tells Two South Florida Counties to Stop Blood Donations Over Zika (July 28, 2016)
Spread of Zika Virus in Puerto Rico Accelerates (July 30, 2016)
Public-Health Officials Across U.S. Race to Build Defenses Against Zika Virus (July 18, 2016)
The CDC said test results showed that spraying, removing standing water and other efforts had failed to kill off many of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can carry Zika, in the square-mile of the Wynwood neighborhood just north of downtown Miami that Florida have deemed the affected zone.

“There is a risk of continued active transmission of Zika in that area,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a call with reporters. The agency is dispatching an eight-member team, with experts in Zika, birth defects, mosquito control and other areas to assist with the investigation.

Patients of Miami obstetrician-gynecologist Ellen Schwartzbard flooded her office with anxious calls on Monday morning. “I can say it is ringing off the hook,” she said. Her practice sees patients from across Miami, including the Wynwood neighborhood, and pregnant women are asking whether it is safe to stay where they are, she said. One pregnant patient who lives outside of Wynwood called from a summer home in Colorado and asked whether it was safe to return, said Dr. Schwartzbard.

Dr. Schwartzbard said she told the woman it was safe to return. She said she cannot recommend women leave Miami “with 14 cases in a one-square-mile area.” It may not be practical for women to spend their pregnancy away from home, she said. She advises women to stay indoors, wear long sleeves, wear mosquito repellent and get rid of standing water near their homes.

The discovery of more infections—involving 12 men and two women—highlights how difficult it can be to stay ahead of Zika. The virus can be devastating to fetuses, yet spreads quietly, infecting most people without causing any symptoms. And it is carried by a mosquito that breeds in the tiniest of pools of water, hides in dark corners, and defies many of the insecticides deployed against it.

ENLARGE
CDC ZIKA RECOMMENDATIONS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued new recommendations regarding the Zika virus in the wake of an outbreak in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami:

Pregnant women who live in that area should wear mosquito repellents and take other steps to prevent mosquito bites.
Pregnant women should use condoms or abstain from sexual contact for the duration of their pregnancies.
Men and women who live in or have been in the area since June 15 should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive, or six months if the man has symptoms.
All pregnant women in the U.S. should be assessed for possible exposure to Zika during every prenatal care visit, and tested if warranted. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can carry Zika have been found in the past in portions of 30 states.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

But the Aedes aegypti has a short flight range of about 150 meters in its lifetime, meaning that if not many mosquitoes are infected, outbreaks can be quite limited. Health officials are focusing most intensively on one small area with a 150-meter radius around two workplaces where the first two people to develop Zika symptoms were found, Dr. Frieden said.

Twelve of the 14 infections occurred within this area, he said. The Florida Department of Health added a buffer area around that radius to form the transmission zone they disclosed on Friday.

Dr. Frieden said health officials expect more infections to be found as they continue testing people in the affected area, and the outbreak could go on for some time. But he said they don’t expect it to spread widely. “Nothing we’ve seen indicates widespread transmission, but it’s certainly possible there could be sustained transmission in small areas.”

Vector control experts will test to see if the mosquitoes in the area are resistant to the pyrethroid insecticides that workers have been using to try to kill them. Mosquitoes may also still be thriving if there are hidden pockets of standing water where they can breed, Dr. Frieden said.

The CDC’s travel advice resembled those it has issued for other countries and territories where Zika is circulating. Pregnant women shouldn’t visit the affected area and if they have been there anytime since June 15, including living or working there, they should be tested for Zika, the agency said.

U.S. health officials have been expecting and preparing for possible Zika outbreaks this summer.

Miami in particular is at risk because it has the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and large numbers of travelers coming and going from countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean such as Puerto Rico, where Zika infections are taking off.

Earlier
0:00 / 0:00
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said four people in the Miami area are likely the first in the U.S. to have contracted the Zika virus from local mosquitoes — and not as a result of traveling abroad. Photo AP
Dr. Schwartzbard and her colleagues took steps to start testing for the virus at their clinic in recent weeks as the threat of Zika’s emergence in Florida increased. Women are pleading to be contacted as soon as they can begin screening, Dr. Schwartzbard said.

Outside of Miami, not everyone is as acutely concerned. In the suburb of Hollywood, Fla., Nigel Spier’s patients have questions about Zika when they arrive for appointments but he isn’t receiving anxious calls. Most of his patients live in Hollywood but many work in Miami, said Dr. Spier, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Memorial Regional Hospital.

For now, with the advisory limited to Wynwood, he said he doesn’t recommend women avoid all of Miami. “If you’re outside of that area, I don’t think that there is any cause for alarm at this point,” he said.

Write to Betsy McKay at [email protected]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-identifies-10-additional-zika-cases-in-miami-area-1470067897

 

[niman]

CREATED ON: TUESDAY,AUGUST 02 6:32 AM

LAST MODIFIED: TUESDAY,AUGUST 02 6:32 AM

 

Zika prompts travel warning

 

 

 

MIAMI (AP) — In a highly unusual travel warning, health officials advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami where mosquitoes are apparently transmitting Zika directly to humans.

Health officials last Friday announced that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the U.S. mainland, citing four cases they strongly believe were caused by bites. Ten more cases were announced Monday, even though Florida authorities have yet to find any mosquitoes actually carrying the virus.

Of the 14 people infected, two are women and 12 are men. Eight patients showed symptoms of Zika, which can include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The others had no symptoms. The disease is often so mild that most people don’t know they are infected.

All 14 cases are thought to have occurred in Miami’s Wynwood arts district, a trendy, fast-gentrifying neighborhood of warehouses, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques.

Rosemary LeBranch was doing laundry in Wynwood when health officials came to her house a few days ago and took urine samples from her, her daughter and her father. Her father, Gabriel Jean, tested positive for Zika, she said Monday.

He had already spoken with a doctor and was advised to wear long shirts and pants outdoors.

“He said nothing hurts; he doesn’t have any pain. He doesn’t feel anything,” she said.

More than 1,650 cases of Zika have been reported in U.S. states. Nearly all have been the result of travel to a Zika-stricken country or sex with someone who was infected abroad, but now more than a dozen people have been infected in the U.S.

Florida health officials said they have tested more than 200 people in Miami-Dade and Broward counties since early July. An emergency response team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help Florida authorities investigate the outbreak, collect samples and control mosquitoes.

Scott asked for a CDC emergency team to help Florida combat Zika, which has been sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean in recent months and now may be gaining a long-dreaded foothold in the U.S. The White House said a team will be sent quickly.

“We will continue to keep our residents and visitors safe utilizing constant surveillance and aggressive strategies, such as increased mosquito spraying, that have allowed our state to fight similar viruses,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement Monday.

Government health officials warned pregnant women Monday to avoid the Zika-stricken part of Miami and told couples who have been there recently to put off having children for at least two months, after the number of people feared infected through mosquito bites in the U.S. climbed to 14.

The CDC also said expectant mothers should get tested for the virus if they have visited the neighborhood since mid-June.

Jordan Davison and Melissa Felix work for a cruise line and were enjoying their day off Monday looking at Wynwood’s spray-painted murals.

“It’s not like a big thing, right?” the 25-year-old Davidson said. “It’s kind of freaky. There’s so much going on we didn’t know, didn’t really think about it. ... I might wear bug spray going forward.”

CDC officials said they could not remember another time in the 70-year history of the disease-fighting agency when it told members of the public not to travel someplace in the U.S.

Zika infections in pregnant women can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including extremely small skulls. The global outbreak has led to more than 1,800 serious defects.

The virus can linger in the blood and urine for weeks and has been found in sperm for months. As a result, the CDC said men and women who have recently been in the affected area should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive a child. And men who have had symptoms of Zika should wait at least six months, the CDC said.

The travel warning covers an area of about one square mile in Wynwood to the east of Interstate 95 and south of I-195. It’s large enough, health officials said, to provide a buffer around the suspected hot zone. The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika travels less than 200 yards in its lifetime.

Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical medicine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said the CDC should be more cautious and expand the travel advisory to all of Miami-Dade County.

“If you’re pregnant or think you might be pregnant, avoid travel to Miami, and possibly elsewhere in South Florida,” he said. “I’m guessing most women who are pregnant are doing that. I don’t think they’re sitting around waiting for the CDC to split hairs and fine-tune it to a specific area.”

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said the narrowly drawn warning was dictated by science and not by any concern for Florida’s crucial tourism industry. He said it was based on the nation’s ability to contain previous outbreaks of other diseases carried by the same mosquito.

“There wouldn’t be a technical or scientific basis to give a broader recommendation,” Frieden said.

http://www.thedpost.com/Zika-outbreak-prompts-travel-war