Federal health officials visit
Orange County and say it won’t be a case of if local transmission of Zika takes place in Florida this summer, rather when and where.
Local transmission of the Zika virus will happen in Florida this summer, federal health officials predicted during a visit to Orange County Mosquito Control on Monday.
“We don’t know when or where,” said Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “If the disease follows the trajectory of chikungunya and dengue, we would expect those [local] cases to be in limited numbers, but we’re being extremely careful until we know.”
What’s concerning officials most is the devastating effects of the virus on unborn babies. So far, 12 babies have been born in the U.S. with Zika-related birth defects, such as microcephaly.
“The birth defects are quite extreme, and the impact that they will have on both families and those children is why we’re here and why we’re talking about this so much,” said Burwell, who was accompanied by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.
The county mosquito control has tested more than 1,100 mosquitoes for Zika and conducted 7,500 home and area visits to check for mosquitoes in the past month-and-a-half.
“To date, we haven’t found a single mosquito carrying the Zika virus,” said Jacobs. “It take federal, state and local resources, but it also takes the work of every single person who lives in our community to stay vigilant, and to watch their properties and to take care of their own personal protection.”
Officials encourage the public to use mosquito repellents, stay in air-conditioned spaces and wear long sleeves and long pants. Pregnant women should not travel to areas that have ongoing transmission of Zika, including 50 countries and territories in the Americas, officials said.
Zika is transmitted via infected mosquitoes and sex. The mosquito species that can carry the Zika virus bite during daytime and use sources of standing water, from bottle caps to tires to kids’ toys, to breed.
“People want to see us spraying,” said Kelly Deutsch, acting manager of Orange County mosquito control. “Spraying is not the primary way to control these mosquitoes . ... The primary way is to remove their habitat. Dump [standing] water and tell your neighbors to dump the water.”
Since earlier this year, Florida has reported 358 travel-related Zika cases, including 48 in pregnant women. Nationwide, there have been more than 1,400 such cases, including 400 pregnant women.
Officials are investigating two cases of Zika in South Florida that might have been locally transmitted. So far, no locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the nation.
“Many people think that if I’m not pregnant, I don’t need to worry about Zika,” Murthy told the Orlando Sentinel. “We want to change that thinking, because the truth is if we want to protect pregnant women, all of us have to play a role in taking steps to prevent Zika from coming to the continent of United States.”