PAHO

Washington, 22 July 2016 (PAHO/WHO) — The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has updated its preliminary characterization of Zika Congenital Syndrome, after an international meeting in Pernambuco.

The event gathered scientists from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, the United States, PAHO and WHO to investigate the details of Zika virus infection and its effects on the child. The update aims to contribute to improvement of the care provided in health services in the affected regions.

PAHO/WHO is leading a process to gather and review more evidence to clearly define these effects and will update its description as further evidence is produced.

In addition to previously known signs, such as microcephaly and some brain abnormalities described earlier, other aspects characterizing the Zika Congenital Syndrome have been identified.

They include clinical conditions and neuroimaging findings mainly related to the central nervous system such as epilepsy, hearing and visual impairment, and psychomotor development as well as effects on the bones and joints, or the osteoarticular system. These conditions have been characterized and analyzed in terms of frequency and severity in the time periods including antenatal, neonatal (0 to 28 days) and the child’s first year.

The scientists looked at systematic reviews of data on Zika, and shared country experiences from Brazil and Colombia. They heard an overview of the epidemiological situation, presented by PAHO’s Incident Manager for Zika, Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, and visited health care facilities in Recife that care for infants who have microcephaly and other conditions associated with Zika virus infection.

The experts noted, “The range of abnormalities seen and the likely causal relationship with Zika virus infection suggest the presence of a new congenital syndrome. WHO has set in place a process for defining the spectrum of this syndrome.   The process focuses on mapping and analyzing the clinical manifestations encompassing the neurological, hearing, visual and other abnormalities, and neuroimaging findings.”

Information on the complications resulting from Zika virus infection is still limited, and the scientists shared data on diagnosis, description, consequences,  physical processes and analysis of evidence from clinicians and researchers on their main findings so far.

“Our aim is to assist the countries in strengthening surveillance of Zika and Zika Congenital Syndrome, in addition to enhancing readiness for dealing with Guillain-Barré cases in health services.  The spatial and temporal association of Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome is evident in various countries,” noted PAHO/WHO’s Aldighieri.

“We had the opportunity to go to IMIP (Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira), in Pernambuco, and see the excellent, incredible, work that they are doing in following up and taking care of about 200 children with microcephaly. It’s important that we get this kind of work to other parts of Brazil and the world for children affected with microcephaly,” said PAHO/WHO’s Director of Family, Gender and Life Course, Dr. Andres de Francisco. “We also should remember that Zika is not the only cause of microcephaly and microcephaly is not the only possible sign of Zika,” he added.

Dr. Luis Codina, PAHO/WHO’s deputy representative in Brazil, said, “After almost a year of very strong work done by various groups of researchers, today there is a certain consensus in associating Zika not only with microcephaly, but also with other aspects of a congenital syndrome. PAHO wants to facilitate this process of investigation and generation of knowledge.”

Fiocruz

University of Florida

Culex quinquefasciatus

World distribution of the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus

CDC

Pregnant Women with Any Laboratory Evidence of Possible Zika Virus Infection in the United States and Territories, 2016

Pregnant Women with Any Laboratory Evidence of Possible Zika Virus Infection

CDC

Outcomes of Pregnancies with Laboratory Evidence of Possible Zika Virus Infection in the United States, 2016

Pregnancy Outcomes in the United States and the District of Columbia

Florida Health

NY Times

“….For a pregnant woman infected with Zika, there is between a 1 percent and 29 percent chance her baby will be born with microcephaly. The wide range reflects the lack of scientific knowledge on the subject.  There is no cure for Zika and health officials estimate that it will cost upward of $10 million for every child born with birth defects…..”

Florida Department of Health

July 19, 2016

Department of Health

Investigating Possible Non-Travel Related Case of Zika

Contact:
Communications Office
NewsMedia@flhealth.gov
(850) 245-4111

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today the Florida Department of Health announced that it is conducting an investigation into a possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County.

The department is actively conducting an epidemiological investigation, is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and will share additional details as they become available. Zika prevention kits and repellant will be available for pickup at DOH-Miami-Dade and distributed in the area under investigation. Zika kits are intended for pregnant women. Mosquito control has already conducted reduction and prevention activities in the area of investigation.

Residents and visitors are reminded that the best way to protect themselves is to prevent mosquito bites through practicing good drain and cover methods:

DRAIN standing water to stop mosquitoes from multiplying

• Drain water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected.

• Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren’t being used.

• Empty and clean birdbaths and pet’s water bowls at least once or twice a week.

• Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.

• Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.

COVER skin with clothing or repellent

• CLOTHING – Wear shoes, socks, long pants and long-sleeves. This type of protection may be necessary for people who must work in areas where mosquitoes are present.

• REPELLENT – Apply mosquito repellent to bare skin and clothing.
  • Always use repellents according to the label. Repellents with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are effective.
  • EPA-approved repellent is safe for pregnant women to use.
  • Use mosquito netting to protect children younger than 2 months old.

COVER doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out of your house

• Repair broken screening on windows, doors, porches and patios.

The department continues to issue daily updates each week day at 2 p.m. Updates include a CDC-confirmed Zika case count by county and information to better keep Floridians prepared.

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.

CDC

CDC is assisting in the investigation of a case of Zika in a Utah resident who is a family contact of the elderly Utah resident who died in late June. The deceased patient had traveled to an area with Zika and lab tests showed he had uniquely high amounts of virus—more than 100,000 times higher than seen in other samples of infected people—in his blood. Laboratories in Utah and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported evidence of Zika infection in both Utah residents.

State and local public health disease control specialists, along with CDC, are investigating how the second resident became infected. The investigation includes additional interviews with and laboratory testing of family members and health care workers who may have had contact with the person who died and trapping mosquitoes and assessing the risk of local spread by mosquitoes.

A CDC Emergency Response Team (CERT) is in Utah at the request of the Utah Department of Health. The team includes experts in infection control, virology, mosquito control, disease investigation, and health communications.

“The new case in Utah is a surprise, showing that we still have more to learn about Zika,” said Erin Staples, MD, PhD, CDC’s Medical Epidemiologist on the ground in Utah. “Fortunately, the patient recovered quickly, and from what we have seen with more than 1,300 travel-associated cases of Zika in the continental United States and Hawaii, non-sexual spread from one person to another does not appear to be common.”

As of July 13, 2016, 1,306 cases of Zika have been reported in the continental United States and Hawaii; none of these have been the result of local spread by mosquitoes. These cases include 14 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure.

Since early 2016, CDC has worked with state, local, and territorial public health officials to protect pregnant women from Zika infection, through these activities:

• Alerts to pregnant women to avoid travel to an area with active Zika transmission, to women in these areas to take steps to prevent mosquito bites, and to partners of pregnant women to use a condom to prevent sexual transmission during pregnancy.
• Development and distribution of PCR and IgM testing kits to confirm Zika virus infection.
• Establishment of CDC Emergency Response Teams to rapidly deploy to assist with Zika-related preparedness and response activities in the United States.
• Deployment of experts to assist in enhancement of mosquito surveillance and testing.
• Collaboration with FDA, blood collection centers, and other entities in the public and private sectors on enhancement of surveillance of blood donations.
• Guidance to prevent sexual transmission, particularly to women who are pregnant.
• Guidance for clinicians on the care of pregnant women who may have been exposed to Zika.
  Studies in collaboration with Brazil, Colombia, and other countries to better understand the link between Zika infection and birth defects, including microcephaly.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwYJbyRO6Xc

Utah DOH

Monday, July 18, 2016