Florida Investigating 2 Possible Local Zika Virus Infections
Miami-Dade County leads the state in confirmed Zika cases, with 92, but all of those cases are travel-related.
The CDC predicted in January that there may be a few small, local outbreaks in the U.S. ? specifically in the southern tips of Florida and Texas. Both areas in the past had outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases, like dengue and chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika virus, and receive thousands of people traveling from places where Zika is spreading.
The CDC said Thursday that beginning Aug. 1, it would award a total of $60 million to states, cities and territories to fund efforts to prevent Zika virus from spreading. These Zika prevention tools include mosquito control and monitoring, more laboratory capacity for testing, and beefing up disease surveillance and investigation. In a statement announcing the funding, CDC Director Tom Frieden said he hoped Congress will vote to provide additional funds.
But as Vox pointed out last week, Congress just entered its summer holiday break without voting on $1.1 billion in funding for more Zika prevention measures. Experts predicted the consequences of that congressional inaction will include more babies born with microcephaly in the U.S.
Currently, 1,404 people have tested positive for Zika virus in the U.S. Of these, 400 are pregnant women. To date, all Zika virus cases in the U.S. are associated with travel to an affected area. Fifteen cases were sexually transmitted, and five people went on to develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition associated with with the virus.
Twelve babies have been born in the U.S. with birth defects caused by Zika virus, including microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain, excess fluid in the brain cavity or abnormal eye development. Officials have counted six pregnancy losses with evidence of the Zika virus-caused birth defects.
Zika virus is endemic in 50 countries and territories around the world.