Mosquito capable of carrying Zika virus found in SW Oklahoma

Yesterday, the FDA asked all blood donation centers in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties to cease collecting blood until they can implement tests to check donor blood for signs of the Zika virus.

Associate Professor Nigel Dickson, epidemiologist with the NZPSU, says it is now clear the increase was because the mothers had been infected with the Zika virus.

A pregnant woman in Napa, who had traveled to Central America, also tested positive for the virus in March, and just weeks before that, a Yolo County resident tested positive for the virus, health officials said. Concern over a possible Zika outbreak has led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer assistance to the Florida Health Department. The 34-year-old male being monitored and tested for the virus has traveled to an area where Zika transmission is active. More than 430 pregnant women in the continental US have been diagnosed with Zika, along with 422 in the territories.

Zika’s symptoms include rash, fever, joint pain and red eyes. So most people with the infection don’t know it.

So far all seven Zika cases have been travel-related, including the latest patient who got the disease while traveling to the Pacific Islands, said Meg Mirivel, ADH communications director.

Does not included suspected cases of local transmission. “The numbers, I believe, are highly unreliable due to under reporting and under testing”.

For questions about Zika, including health impacts, call the Florida health department hotline at 855-622-6735.

The mosquitoes were found through a collaborative surveillance project between the health department and Oklahoma State University entomologists.

The number of Floridians diagnosed with the virus has steadily climbed, but until recently health officials said all of the infections had resulted from travel outside the state. There is still no evidence of local transmission of Zika in the Cayman Islands.

First, we need to reduce mosquito breeding areas. West Nile virus is transmitted to humans and animals through a mosquito bite.

The virus’ symptoms are usually mild, but Zika has been identified as a cause of congenital microcephaly and other birth defects. But a similar species of mosquito that has been biting New Yorkers for years does have the potential to carry Zika, so it’s important that we’re all vigilant.

The agency also recommended that neighboring counties take precaution.

If they did acquire the virus from domestic mosquitoes, it could mean that others in the area also may have acquired Zika virus locally, and may have donated blood without knowing it was infected. “The investigation should be very straightforward”, he said.