New York Expands Zika Testing

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ALBANY, N.Y. (March 9, 2016) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to expand free Zika virus testing to all pregnant women who, during their pregnancy, had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission.  

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NYSDOH Announces Expansion of Zika Virus Testing

 

Expansion to Include Pregnant Women with a Sex Partner Who Traveled To a Country with Zika Virus Transmission

Agency Working with Local Officials to Implement Mosquito Surveillance and Response Plan

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 9, 2016) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to expand free Zika virus testing to all pregnant women who, during their pregnancy, had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission.  

 

This expansion comes as NYSDOH is investigating one case of possible sexual transmission of the Zika virus, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published reports of increasing numbers of confirmed and probable sexual transmission of Zika virus, including several involving pregnant women.  To date, NYSDOH’s Wadsworth Center has conducted tests on samples from more than 1,400 patients and 40 have been found to be positive. With the exception of the one possible case of sexual transmission, all of the infected patients have been returning travelers from countries where Zika virus is ongoing.

 

NYSDOH also already offers testing to pregnant women who themselves have traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission during their pregnancy, as well as to non-pregnant women, men or children who developed symptoms of Zika virus within 4 weeks of travel to an area with active Zika virus transmission.

 

Only one in five people infected with Zika virus will get sick, and the symptoms are usually very mild, including fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). However, there have been reports of increased cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly that may be associated with Zika virus infection among pregnant women.

 

CDC and NYSDOH recommend that, until more is known, males who have traveled to or lived in an area with active Zika virus transmission and are sexual partners of pregnant women, abstain from sex or consistently and correctly use latex condoms for the duration of the pregnancy.

 

NYSDOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “As evidence has emerged that the risk of sexual transmission is greater than previously known, the Department is expanding its testing to include all pregnant women who had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission. This expansion in testing will provide more pregnant women and clinicians with information to guide their healthcare. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with the CDC to respond to new data on transmission to determine how we can best limit the spread of Zika virus.”

 

NYSDOH Develops and Distributes Educational Materials

 

NYSDOH has developed new educational materials on the Zika virus that have been sent to local health departments, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities and WIC clinics.  The materials, including fact sheets and posters, provide important information for New Yorkers who may have been exposed to Zika if they traveled to a country where Zika transmission is ongoing.  They also will be translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese and several other languages and are available to be downloaded at:  http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/zika_virus/

 

NYSDOH Coordinating Response Plan and Control Measures with Local Officials

 

NYSDOH is working with local health officials from all of the counties in New York inhabited by a species of mosquito that could potentially carry the Zika virus, to update and implement the New York State Mosquito Surveillance and Response Plan.  The Plan will detail the surveillance of mosquitoes as well as planned control activities during the upcoming mosquito season.  Control measures will include efforts to educate the public about the importance of continually disposing of water holding containers to eliminate mosquito larval habitats. 

 

In Central and South America, the Zika virus has been primarily transmitted by a mosquito bite from the species Aedes aegypti, which is not present in New York State.  However, a related species of mosquito, Aedes albopictus is present in New York City, as well as Nassau, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties.  Because it is a tropical mosquito, it has difficulty surviving cold winters, limiting its northward spread, but it has adapted to survive in a broader temperature range.

 

Researchers are currently uncertain if Aedes albopictus can effectively transmit the Zika virus, but NYSDOH is preparing for the event that it can. The agency is keeping local health department and providers up-to-date with the most recent data, and are helping them to monitor and control mosquito populations in preparation for the 2016 season.

 

Healthcare providers must report all potential cases of the Zika virus to their local health department to allow NYSDOH to monitor the occurrence of the disease and ensure a coordinated response.

 

NYSDOH urges anyone (pregnant women and their sexual partners in particular), who has visited countries impacted by this virus to consult with their health care professionals, and remain alert for possible symptoms. A Zika information line (1-888-364-4723) is available Monday through Friday from 9am – 5pm to answer concerns and questions from the public or healthcare providers. Additional information on Zika is available here on the NYSDOH website.

 

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New York Expands Zika Testing After The Latest "Alarming" News From WHO

BY MIRANDA KATZ IN NEWS ON MAR 9, 2016 5:09 PM

 

 

The Aedes albopictus mosquito, native to NYC, has been known to transmit Zika in other areas. (Wiki commons)

 

The state Department of Health announced today that it will begin offering free testing for the Zika virus to pregnant women whose partners recently traveled to a country with Zika transmission. This comes a day after the World Health Organization announced that there's now substantial evidence of links between Zika and birth defects such as microcephaly, and that the virus can be sexually transmitted more easily than initially thought.

"Reports and investigations in several countries strongly suggest that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed," WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan said yesterday, calling this news "alarming."

For the past month, the state DOH has been offering free testing for men and women alike who have traveled to Zika-affected countries and are symptomatic. But with the newly serious risk of contracting the virus through sex with someone who is infected, that coverage is now expanding to any pregnant woman whose partner has been exposed to Zika. In a statement today, state DOH commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said that "this expansion in testing will provide more pregnant women and clinicians with information to guide their healthcare. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with the CDC to respond to new data on transmission to determine how we can best limit the spread of Zika virus."

The WHO declared Zika virus an international public health emergency in February, which some saw as surprising given that the virus itself is quite mild, especially compared the other three such declarations of emergency: Ebola and polio in 2014, and swine flu in 2009.

Just one in five people infected with Zika virus will show symptoms, and those symptoms are usually mild, including a fever or a rash. But there has been some evidence that links Zika virus in pregnant women to birth defects such as microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and brains, and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis and death.

Though there is still no clearly established causation between Zika virus and such conditions, the evidence is mounting, the WHO said yesterday: apparently nine Zika-affected countries have recently reported increases in Guillan-Barre. In slightly better news, a vaccine against the viruscould be ready for human testing as soon as September.

There have been 40 confirmed cases of Zika in the state to date, one of which may have been sexually transmitted. In New York City, there have been 15 confirmed cases, DOH spokesperson Christopher Miller said today—quite the leap from last month's count of 5. In all of these cases, except for the one possible sexual transmission, the virus was contracted abroad.

Zika virus has been spread in Latin American and Caribbean countries by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is not native to New York. However, New York is home to the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which has been known to carry the virus in other areas. Last month, Mayor de Blasio said that he is "very concerned about the onset of the mosquito season at the beginning of April," and that the city is working on a plan for mosquito control.

Miller said that there was a roundtable at City Hall today on mosquito control, and that "we continue to update our plans and services for New York City residents based on the best available evidence we have. We will be using information from this meeting to inform our plans moving forward. We are already stepping up our surveillance and testing here in New York City."

As of last month, the city was "cautiously optimistic" that New Yorkers won't have to worry about catching Zika from mosquitoes here. But if you think you've been exposed to the virus and want more information about free testing, you can call the state's Zika hotline at 1-888-364-4723. 

http://gothamist.com/2016/03/09/new_york_expands_zika_testing_after.php

 

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NYSDOH expands Zika virus testing for pregnant women

By WBNG News

March 9, 2016Updated Mar 9, 2016 at 3:24 PM EST

Albany, NY (WBNG Binghamton) The NYS Department of Health is taking new steps in the fight against Zika and expanding it's virus testing.

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Wednesday he has directed the NYSDOH to expand free testing to all pregnant women who had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission.

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The NYSDOH is currently investigating one case of possible sexual transmission of the Zika virus. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published reports of increasing numbers of confirmed and probable sexual transmission of Zika virus.

NYSDOH’s Wadsworth Center has conducted tests on samples from more than 1,400 patients and 40 have been found to be positive. All of those patients have been returning travelers from countries where the Zika virus is ongoing. One possible case is by sexual transmission.

NYSDOH already offers testing to pregnant women who themselves have traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission during their pregnancy, as well as to non-pregnant women, men or children who developed symptoms of Zika virus within 4 weeks of travel to an area with active Zika virus transmission.

Only one in five people infected with Zika virus will get sick, and the symptoms are usually very mild, including fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis. But there have been reports of increased cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly that may be associated with Zika virus infection among pregnant women.

CDC and NYSDOH recommend that, until more is known, males who have traveled to or lived in an area with active Zika virus transmission and are sexual partners of pregnant women, abstain from sex or consistently and correctly use latex condoms for the duration of the pregnancy.

NYSDOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “As evidence has emerged that the risk of sexual transmission is greater than previously known, the Department is expanding its testing to include all pregnant women who had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission. This expansion in testing will provide more pregnant women and clinicians with information to guide their healthcare. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with the CDC to respond to new data on transmission to determine how we can best limit the spread of Zika virus.”

New educational materials on the Zika virus have been sent to local health departments, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities and WIC clinics.

NYSDOH is working with local health officials from all of the counties in New York inhabited by a species of mosquito that could potentially carry the Zika virus, to update and implement the New York State Mosquito Surveillance and Response Plan.

Healthcare providers must report all potential cases of the Zika virus to their local health department to allow NYSDOH to monitor the occurrence of the disease and ensure a coordinated response.

http://www.wbng.com/news/state/NYSDOH-expands-Zika-virus-testing-371552031.html

 

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