Zika Risk In US Mapped By Centers For Disease Control And Prevention

Zika has spread to the various parts of the world including the United States, via infected travelers. Ever since the virus came to the U.S., it got transmitted to healthy individuals via sexual intercourse or mosquito bites. According to experts, this may take in a form of epidemic if not prevented and contained. Puerto Rico is already notified as the site of epidemic outbreak of Zika in the Americas.

As per the recent case count report by CDC Arboviral Disease Branch based on the data reported to the ArboNET in the time period of Jan. 1, 2015 to Nov. 30, 2016, on the number of locally transmitted Zika infection cases, the number of locally transmitted Zika infection has grown steeply in the Miami region of Florida. A total of 184 cases were reported in the entire state of Florida in the last few months. CDC officials mapped the entire Miami region and identified the downtown area as the hub of local transmission of Zika in the region.

CDC officially issued a notification, asking pregnant women to restrain from traveling to the Zika-infected South Florida region. This is the first time that such official notification has been issued in the continental American region. Additionally, considering the rampant increase in the number of reported Zika infections in the U.S. territories, CDC issued travel notices and clearly stated that pregnant women should not travel to such places, where Zika outbreaks have already been reported.

The authorities are baffled on the increasing number of local transmissions and recommend extreme caution to the people living and traveling to Miami and other regions of South Florida for holidays and other reasons.

Mass mosquito control programs are underway to control the growth of Aedes mosquitoes in the region by spraying mosquito repellents in public places. The CDC also recommended people to stay indoors and use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered mosquito repellents viz DEET, picardin or para-menthane-diol. If one is going outside, then try to wear long-sleeved shirts, full pants and shoes to avoid mosquito bites. As it is known that Zika can also be transmitted via sexual intercourse, CDC recommends men to use condoms and prevent the sexual transmission of the disease.

The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the two varieties of mosquitoes that are chiefly responsible for the spread of Zika. Studies reveal that these mosquitoes can thrive in tropical and subtropical climates like Florida and Texas. Experts are proposing that the chance of spread of these mosquitoes in Northern America is very minimal because of colder climatic conditions. Additionally, onset of winter and decrease in temperature further restricts the survival of these mosquitoes in most of the states.