Gov. Scott declares public health emergency in 4 counties

Florida health officials have confirmed that there have been nine cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the state, all of which occurred in people who’ve traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean, where the virus has been spreading.

The patient apparently was infected after having sex with an ill individual who returned from a country where the virus is present.

GENEVA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) – An expert from World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said Brazil reported 10-fold Zika-linked microcephaly cases than average, following the United Nations health agency declared the cluster of microcephaly and other neurological disorders in relation to the Zika virus as public health emergency of worldwide concern.

It’s the first Zika virus case acquired through sexual transmission in Dallas this year, the DCHHS said.

Rick Scott issued an executive order directing the state’s surgeon general to declare a public health emergency related to the Zika virus in four counties.

A worrisome development intensified concerns this week when health officials in Dallas County, Texas, reported what appears to be the first Zika case in the US transmitted through sexual contact. Health officials believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the disease while traveling to affected countries.

According to the CDC, Zika fever illness is generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain. Within years, the virus had spread to humans in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The US travel alert is expanded to 30 travel destinations, now including Jamaica and pregnant women are being advised to postpone trips to those destinations.

There are only a small number of mosquitoes in Thailand that can carry the Zika virus, as just a few people have been infected, a medical entomologist said.

The CDC said it will provide more guidance as more information on sexual transmission is learned, but in the meantime, “Sexual partners can protect each other by using condoms to prevent spreading sexually transmitted infections”.

“We have seen only two cases so far of sexual transmission, so while it seems possible that the virus spreads through semen and is possibly transmittable through blood, these are so far only the rare cases of (sexual) transmission, what we do see is a huge majority of mosquito infections”.

More and more is coming to light about the Zika virus.

However, Rathore said the Zika virus could pose a threat to growing fetuses if their mother becomes infected.

“Unless you’re planning on traveling to a place where this virus is circulating, there’s not any reason to be concerned about it”, she said.

While there’s no treatment or vaccine for Zika available now, work is underway.