Pregnant women warned over travelling to Florida due to Zika

Florida health officials are investigating two more mysterious cases of Zika infection that do not appear to be related to travel, bringing the total to four. PHE has said the risk in the southern USA state was moderate, while in many countries in South America, including Olympics host Brazil, it was high.

Zika virus has affected thousands of people in the Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly babies. Zika is very unsafe for expecting moms as it can cause devastating birth defects, such as microcephaly, or unusual small heads, and underdeveloped brains.

Fourteen countries have reported microcephaly cases, and the first baby born in Europe with microcephaly was reported in Spain this week.

Zika virus has been reported in Africa and parts of Asia since the 1950s, and in the southwestern Pacific Ocean since 2007.

“While no mosquitoes have tested positive for the Zika virus”, Florida Governor Rick Scott said, health department is aggressively testing people in this area to ensure there are no other cases. Florida is taking an aggressive approach.

The virus generally spreads through from infected mosquitoes, and can also be through sex. All four of Florida’s cases – two in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward County – are active Zika cases, but none of the people infected have exhibited symptoms to be admitted to the hospital.

He added that the previous success in Florida of controlling similar diseases such as dengue, transmitted by the same mosquito as Zika, led British health authorities to classify the current risk to pregnant women visiting the state as moderate.

Zika primarily spreads through bites from a species of mosquito that is found in urban parts of the South and peaks in number in August and September. These cases include 15 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure.

One case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been confirmed in Athens County, as well as neighboring Hocking County. As of 27 July 2016, over 50 cases have been diagnosed in United Kingdom travellers since January 2016.

The medical director of England’s public health agency said officials there weren’t surprised by the outbreak in Florida.

The CDC has urged pregnant women in the United States not to visit the 60-plus countries and territories where Zika is prevalent.

Health officials have warned Americans for more than a year to avoid travel to regions where the Zika virus posed a serious threat.