Local Florida Zika Cases Increase To 56

[niman]

There are seven new non-travel related cases today. Six are associated with the Miami Beach investigation. One is a new investigation in Miami-Dade County. The six new cases associated with Miami Beach were confirmed Friday, but are being formally announced today due to Hurricane Hermine closing state offices on Friday.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2016/09/Department of Health Daily Zika Update.html

[niman]

September 6, 2016

Department of Health Daily Zika Update

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 issue a Zika virus update each week day. Updates will include a Zika case count by county and information to keep Floridians informed and prepared. In order to keep the public informed, the department has posted our investigation process here.

There is one new travel related case today in Orange County. Please visit our website to see the full list of travel-related cases.

There are seven new non-travel related cases today. Six are associated with the Miami Beach investigation. One is a new investigation in Miami-Dade County. The six new cases associated with Miami Beach were confirmed Friday, but are being formally announced today due to Hurricane Hermine closing state offices on Friday.

DOH continues door-to-door outreach and targeted testing in Pinellas, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties and mosquito abatement and reduction activities are also taking place around the locations that are being investigated. DOH believes ongoing transmission is only taking place within the small identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach in Miami-Dade County, see maps below.

One case does not mean ongoing active transmission is taking place. DOH conducts a thorough investigation by sampling close contacts and community members around each case to determine if additional people are infected. If DOH finds evidence that active transmission is occurring in an area, the media and the public will be notified.

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	577
Non-Travel   Related Infections of Zika	56
Infections   Involving Pregnant Women	80

The department is currently conducting 14 investigations. Information regarding the investigations can be found here. If investigations reveal additional areas of active transmission, the department will announce a defined area of concern. 

The department has conducted Zika virus testing for more than 5,910 people statewide. Florida currently has the capacity to test 5,678 people for active Zika virus and 6,748 for Zika antibodies. At Governor Scott’s direction, all county health departments now offer free Zika risk assessment and testing to pregnant women.

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 impacted areas 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. The total number of pregnant women who have been or are being monitored is 80.

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 5,541 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.

State of Florida

 

Miami-Dade County

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]

ACTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

The department is conducting 14 active investigations, including 11 in Miami-Dade, one in Pinellas and two in Palm Beach counties. The department continues door-to-door outreach and targeted testing in Pinellas, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties and mosquito abatement and reduction activities are also taking place around the locations that are being investigated. 

The department has closed out three investigations including two in Miami-Dade County and one in Broward County. These cases were determined to be single cases with no additional transmission or linkage to areas of active transmission.

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_{Data as of Sep. 6, 2016 - 3:45pm EST}

[niman]

Seven new Zika cases in South Florida

 

 Alan Gomez, USA TODAY9:18 p.m. EDT September 6, 2016

MIAMI — Florida health officials are investigating whether mosquitoes carrying Zika are spreading even farther in South Florida as the number of locally acquired cases continue to climb.

The Florida Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday that six more people contracted the virus in the tourist hot spot of Miami Beach. Over the past month, 40 people have contracted Zika from mosquitoes in Miami Beach and a second South Florida location - the Wynwood art district just north of downtown Miami. Those two areas have become the focus of health officials, mosquito control efforts and travel warnings for pregnant women from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now, the department says someone has contracted the virus outside those two zones. The department said the new case was identified in Miami-Dade County, but would not specify where until officials can test relatives, close contacts and neighbors of the person to determine if it's an active outbreak or just an isolated case.

"One case does not mean ongoing active transmission is taking place," the department said. "If DOH finds evidence that active transmission is occurring in an area, the media and the public will be notified."

USA TODAY

Fla. finds Zika virus in U.S. mosquito for first time

 

The new cases came as Congress returned to Washington and tried to agree on emergency funding to help Florida and other states fight back against the fast-spreading virus.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said on Tuesday that Democrats have twice rejected a bill that would dedicate $1.1 billion in federal funds to help research and prevention efforts. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders say the bills advanced by the GOP have included "poison pills" including cuts to health care, Planned Parenthood and blocking a ban on displaying the Confederate flag at U.S. military cemeteries.

USA TODAY

Bill to provide $1.1 billion Zika funding dies in Senate vote

 

As that battle rages in Washington, Miami-Dade County announced that it will conduct aerial mosquito spraying over the affected portion of Miami Beach. Similar efforts in Wynwood drew widespread opposition from residents concerned about the chemicals dropping down on them. But Miami-Dade Country Mayor Carlos Gimenez said on Tuesday that the CDC and various state officials signed off on the decision to spray on Miami Beach.

"Although we had concerns about spraying in Miami Beach due to its unique topography, high-rise buildings and construction sites, we have received reassurances . . . that this is the right and safe thing to do at this time," Gimenez said in a statement.

The news of Zika continuing to spread on Miami Beach comes after state officials recently trapped the first mosquitoes in the U.S. to contain the Zika virus. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services caught three mosquitoes in the 1.5-square mile area where humans have been contracting the virus.

To date, Florida has confirmed 577 cases of people who contracted Zika while traveling abroad. The virus has been identified in 80 pregnant women who contracted the virus abroad.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/06/seven-new-zika-cases-south-florida/89928314/