Archive for the ‘Zika virus’ Category
Florida: There are 14 new travel-related cases 8/10/16 & 1 new non-travel related case today being investigated in Miami-Dade County.
Wednesday, August 10th, 2016Texas: An infant who recently died had microcephaly linked to the Zika virus
Wednesday, August 10th, 2016Infant Death in Texas Linked to Zika
News Release
August 9, 2016
Texas has confirmed that an infant who recently died in Harris County had microcephaly linked to the Zika virus. The baby passed away shortly after birth and is the first Zika-related death reported in Texas.
During her pregnancy, the mother was in Latin America, where she was infected, and the baby acquired the infection in the womb. Recent test results confirmed the baby’s condition and link to Zika. The mother and baby are classified as travel-related cases, and there is no additional associated risk in Texas.
Last month Texas reported the state’s first case of microcephaly linked to Zika, also a Harris County infant.
“Zika’s impact on unborn babies can be tragic, and our hearts are with this family,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, Texas Department of State Health Services commissioner. “Our central mission from the beginning has been to do everything we can to protect unborn babies from the devastating effects of Zika.”
DSHS is coordinating with Harris County Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to follow the cases.
Texas has reported 99 cases of Zika virus disease, including the two infants with microcephaly from Harris County. All Texas cases are related to travel abroad to areas with active Zika transmission. There have been no reported cases of Zika virus disease transmitted by mosquitoes in Texas, but Texas is on alert for the possibility local transmission.
With its link to microcephaly, Zika poses a serious threat to unborn children. DSHS is tracking the number of pregnant women with Zika in the state, working with providers and reporting weekly data to the national Zika pregnancy registry. DSHS is studying past microcephaly data to understand the prevalence and patterns of this condition in Texas.
DSHS has been emphasizing precautions, specifically for travelers and pregnant women, through an ongoing public education campaign and via www.TexasZika.org.
Florida reported four more locally acquired Zika cases, all from the same small area thought to be the source of nearly all of the infections
Wednesday, August 10th, 2016Aug. 9, 2016
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DAILY ZIKA UPDATE
Contact:
Communications Office
NewsMedia@flhealth.gov
(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 at 2 p.m. 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 2,567 people statewide. Florida currently has the capacity to test 6,053 people for active Zika virus and 1,691 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 14 new travel-related cases today with four in Miami-Dade County, three in Orange County, two in Hernando County, one in Broward County, one in Lee County, one in Monroe County and two involving pregnant women. This is Hernando and Monroe counties first travel-related cases of Zika 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 four new non-travel related cases today being investigated in Miami-Dade County. All four were exposed in the identified area of concern 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 |
369 |
|
Non-Travel Related Infections of Zika |
21 *six of these meet CDC’s case definition |
|
Infections Involving Pregnant Women |
57 |
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 |
|
455 |
424 |
17 |
14 |
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. The department has cleared that area and is continuing to test people within the one-square mile radius. 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 |
16 |
0 |
3 |
Sample collection and door-to-door outreach continues. Mosquito abatement and reduction activities are on-going.
3) One (1) case in Palm Beach County:
|
Total # of Samples Collected |
Negative Samples |
Positive Samples |
Pending Results |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Door to door outreach and sample collection in areas of interest around the case are underway. 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 individual 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 5th Avenue to the west, US 1 to the east, NW/NE 38th Street to the north and NW/NE 20thStreet 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 57.
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 3,710 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.
FDA approves field trial on the release of Oxitec’s genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes (OX513A) to suppress the local Aedes aegypti mosquito population
Sunday, August 7th, 2016Update
August 5, 2016
The FDA has completed the environmental review for a proposed field trial to determine whether the release of Oxitec Ltd.’s genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes (OX513A) will suppress the local Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the release area at Key Haven, Florida. After considering thousands of public comments, the FDA has published a final environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) that agrees with the EA’s conclusion that the proposed field trial will not have significant impacts on the environment.
FDA’s finalization of the EA and FONSI does not mean that Oxitec’s GE mosquitos are approved for commercial use. Oxitec is responsible for ensuring all other local, state, and federal requirements are met before conducting the proposed field trial, and, together with its local partner, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, to determine whether and when to begin the proposed field trial in Key Haven, Florida.
FDA gave final approval Friday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida to combat Zika virus
Sunday, August 7th, 2016“….In the Keys, Oxitec would release nonbiting male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes modified with synthetic DNA to produce offspring that die outside a lab.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District approached Oxitec after a dengue outbreak in Key West ended in 2010. The district wants new ways to eradicate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes……
Brazil and the Cayman Islands are releasing Oxitec’s insects as part of other mosquito control operations. The company, a subsidiary of Maryland-based Intrexon, also has tested the mosquitoes in Panama……..”
CDC Guidance for Travel and Testing of Pregnant Women and Women of Reproductive Age for Zika Virus Infection Related to the Investigation for Local Mosquito-borne Zika Virus Transmission in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Florida.
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Advice for people living in or traveling to Wynwood, a neighborhood in Miami, FL
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.
Puerto Rico’s Zika Response in Chaos
Sunday, July 31st, 2016“….The war against the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the virus is sputtering out in failure. Infections are skyrocketing: Many residents fail to protect themselves against bites because they believe the threat is exaggerated. Federal and local health officials are feuding, and the governor’s special adviser on Zika has quit in disgust. There are only about 5,500 confirmed infections on the island, including of 672 pregnant women. But experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they believe that is a radical undercount…..”
MMWR: As of July 7, Zika has been diagnosed in 5,582 people, including 672 pregnant women, in Puerto Rico.
Saturday, July 30th, 2016
“…The situation in Puerto Rico warrants urgent, comprehensive action to protect pregnant women:
- The government of Puerto Rico and its municipalities can promote an integrated mosquito management program that includes reducing places with water where mosquitoes lay eggs, keeping mosquitoes out of houses with screens on windows and doors, and reducing the number of mosquitoes by using EPA-approved products. Everyone can follow these steps to help reduce the number of mosquitoes in and around homes.
- People who live in or travel to Puerto Rico should avoid mosquito bites by using EPA-registered insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and staying indoors in places with screens and air conditioning to the greatest extent possible.
- Pregnant women and their partners should use condoms and other barriers to prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus, or not have sex throughout the pregnancy.
- Couples who want to prevent or delay pregnancy should talk to their healthcare provider about safe and effective contraceptive methods.
- Clinicians who suspect Zika in patients who live in or have recently returned from areas with Zika, such as Puerto Rico, should report cases to public health officials…..”