Last week, the U.S. reported its first cases of the Zika virus that were not acquired from travel. By Tuesday, the number of infected people was up to 15, with all but one case being reported in the same southeastern Florida mixed-use community.
This prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel warning in the area, located just south of Miami, advising pregnant women and their partners to avoid the neighborhood. If pregnant women traveled to the area on or after June 15, officials say they should see a doctor.
Symptoms of Zika can be tricky to spot; most of those infected don’t know they have it. The cases in Florida all were diagnosed from door-to-door surveys of residents. But the virus is particularly dangerous for pregnant women; it can cause microcephaly, a birth defect that typically cannot be detected until at least six months into pregnancy.
According to the Washington Post, Miami-Dade County officials have been going door-to-door in the area, eliminating standing water and spraying for mosquitoes. Local authorities are stressing to residents the importance of eliminating any source of standing water, no matter how small. The department has seen an increase in mosquito abatement calls, indicating a concern among the public.
Old tires, birdbaths and even bottle caps with a small amount of water left outside can be ideal breeding grounds for the species of mosquitoes that transmit the virus. To further complicate extermination, the larvae do not need water to survive and eggs can lie dormant for up to a year, hatching when submerged in water.
The Miami Herald reported that this morning, airplanes will spray insecticideson a 10-sq-mile areal of Miami-Dade County, in addition to the pest control measures already in place. But these measures are proving not as effective as officials hoped, and some are claiming the federal government is not providing enough funds to fight the mosquitoes. Luckily, health officials do not expect widespread transmission of the virus, but Gov. Rick Scott told CNBC that without support from Congress and President Obama, the state will draw from its own funds to fight what he says is, “a national, international issue.”
The Washington Post published a map of the U.S. areas most at risk. Until a solution is found, residents are still encouraged to eliminate standing water, particularly in crowded, humid environments.
