Florida Local Zika Cases Increase To 28

[niman]

There are three new non-travel related cases today in Miami-Dade County. Two of the individuals were exposed in the less than one-square mile in Miami-Dade County. The third new non-travel related infection is located outside of the one-square mile area in Miami-Dade County.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2016/08/081216-zika-update.html

Edited August 12, 2016 by niman

[niman]

Aug. 12, 2016

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DAILY ZIKA UPDATE

 http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2016/08/081216-zika-update.html

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

Tallahassee, Fla.—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. Updates will include a CDC-confirmed Zika case count by county and information to better keep Floridians prepared.

The department has conducted testing for the Zika virus for more than 3,340 people statewide. Florida currently has the capacity to test 5,721 people for active Zika virus and 3,167 for Zika antibodies. Per the Governor’s direction on August 3, all county health departments are now offering free Zika risk assessment and testing to any pregnant woman who would like to be tested.

There are 10 new travel-related cases today with four in Orange, two in Miami-Dade, one in Leon, one in Palm Beach, one in Sarasota counties and one involving a pregnant woman. This is Sarasota County’s first case and they have been added to the Declaration of Public Health Emergency. Please visit our website to see the full list of travel-related cases.

There are three new non-travel related cases today in Miami-Dade County. Two of the individuals were exposed in the less than one-square mile in Miami-Dade County. The third new non-travel related infection is located outside of the one-square mile area in Miami-Dade County.

The department still believes active transmissions are only taking place within the identified area that is less than one-square mile in Miami-Dade County.

For a complete breakdown of non-travel and travel-related Zika infections to-date, please see below.

Infection Type	Infection Count
Travel-Related Infections of Zika	413
Non-Travel Related Infections of Zika	28
Infections Involving Pregnant Women	58

 ACTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

The department is currently conducting three active investigations. Under each section below, the department outlines the original cases that spurred these investigations, the number of samples collected and results in connection with each investigation to-date.

1)     Identified one-square mile in Miami-Dade – Two (2) original cases

Total # of Samples Collected	Negative Samples	Positive Samples	Pending Results
517	492	21	4

Door to door outreach and sampling continue. Mosquito abatement and reduction activities are on-going.

On August 4, the department announced we have completed testing in a 10 block area of the northwest quadrant of the one-square mile area and no people within the 10 block radius tested positive. On August 11, the department announced that it completed testing in an additional four block area and no people within that four block area tested positive. A map detailing the area is below. The CDC continues to monitor the area per their guidelines.

2)     Miami-Dade investigation outside the one-square mile: One (1) case

Total # of Samples Collected	Negative Samples	Positive Samples	Pending Results
19	19	0	0

3)     One (1) case in Palm Beach County:

Total # of Samples Collected	Negative Samples	Positive Samples	Pending Results
3	3	0	0

4) Second Miami-Dade investigation outside the one-square mile: One (1) case

The investigation is beginning in this area in Miami-Dade County. Mosquito abatement and reduction activities will take place around the area of interest.

CLOSED INVESTIGATIONS

• The department has closed out the investigations into the first cases in Miami-Dade and Broward County (two cases). The department tested 124 close contacts and individuals from the community and found no additional positives.

The department still believes active transmissions are only taking place within the identified one-square mile area in Miami-Dade County. There are no active investigations in Broward County and no areas of active transmission in Broward County.

One case does not mean active transmission is taking place and that’s why the department conducts a thorough investigation by sampling close contacts and community members around each case to determine if additional people are infected. The department has not yet determined where the individual in Palm Beach County or the two individuals outside the one-square mile in Miami-Dade County likely contracted Zika and will share more details as the investigations progress. If the department finds evidence that active transmission is occurring in an area, we will notify the media and the public.

The department still believes 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 5^th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38^th Street to the north and NW/NE 20^thStreet to the south. This area is about one square mile and a map is below to detail the area. This remains the only area of the state where the department has confirmed there are local transmissions of Zika. If investigations reveal additional areas of likely active transmission, the department will announce a defined area of concern. 

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, however, pregnant women are advised to avoid non-essential travel to the impacted area in Miami-Dade County (see map below). If you are pregnant and must travel or if you live or work in the impacted area, protect yourself from mosquito bites by wearing insect repellent, long clothing and limiting your time outdoors. 

According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus. It is also recommended that all pregnant women who reside in or travel frequently to the area where active transmission is likely occurring be tested for Zika in the first and second trimester. Pregnant women in the identified area can contact their medical provider or their local county health department to be tested and receive a Zika prevention kit. CDC recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds. Additionally, the department is working closely with the Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade County to identify pregnant women in the one square mile area to ensure they have access to resources and information to protect themselves. CDC recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds. 

Pregnant women can contact their local county health department for Zika risk assessment and testing hours and information. A Zika risk assessment will be conducted by county health department staff and blood and/or urine samples may be collected and sent to labs for testing. It may take one to two weeks to receive results.

Florida has been monitoring pregnant women with evidence of Zika regardless of symptoms since January. The total number of pregnant women who have been or are being monitored is 58.

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 3,934 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.

For more information on DOH action and federal guidance, please click here.

For resources and 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.

[niman]

Map Update

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&hl=en&authuser=0&authuser=0&mid=1FlIB7hHnVgGD9TlbSx5HwAj-PEQ

[niman]

Three more people in Florida have tested positive for Zika caused by local mosquitoes, including another person who does not live in the one-square-mile (2.6-square-km) area believed to be the hub of local transmission, state officials said on Friday.

Florida now has 28 cases of non-travel-related Zika, a virus that spread rapidly across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning for pregnant women to avoid this area of Miami. Zika has been shown to cause birth defects, including microcephaly, which causes severe developmental problems.

As of Friday, two individuals in Miami-Dade County have been infected with Zika through local transmission who live outside the transmission area. A third person in Palm Beach County has also tested positive for Zika.

The health department said it still believes local transmission is only occurring in the one-square-mile (2.6-square-km) area located in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.

The state said is has just begun investigating the second Miami case outside of the Wynwood neighborhood and has begun mosquito control efforts.

RELATED COVERAGE

• FACT BOX Why the Zika virus is causing alarm
• Timeline: Zika's origin and global spread

It did not disclose the location of the new case and stressed that one case does not mean active transmission. In addition to cases caused by local transmission, Florida reported 10 new travel-related cases of Zika, bringing the total to 413.

The continuing Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas. Its arrival in the continental United States had been widely anticipated.

 

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-florida-idUSKCN10N2EY