Zika spread in Puerto Rico prompts health emergency declaration by feds

The number of Zika cases there now total 10,690, with 1,035 of those being infected pregnant women.

The United States is experiencing its first-ever outbreak of Zika, in a one-square-mile Miami neighborhood called Wynwood.

However, polls indicate most Americans don’t seem to be concerned about the tropical disease, and even health officials note it’s unlikely to spread beyond tropical areas. All active investigations now under way are being conducted in Miami-Dade County.

Although scientists are still trying to answer basic questions about the virus, it appears that the most at risk time for a pregnant woman to become infected is early in pregnancy. It’s estimated that up to 6% of pregnant women infected with Zika will miscarry or have stillborn deliveries.

Three new non-travel cases of the Zika virus have been found in Florida, bringing the number of cases confirmed there so far to 28, health officials said.

In its weekly Zika update late yesterday, the CDC documented a spike of Zika cases in the U.S. territories, mostly in Puerto Rico. The CDC reported California had 87 cases as of August 10.

The public health emergency declaration is a tool for the federal government to provide fresh support to Puerto Rico’s government to tackle the outbreak and grants access to certain federal funds. Rius said that’s 1,914 new cases this week.

Canada’s public health agency has confirmed the country’s first case of Zika-related defects in a fetus. Twenty-two of the cases in the USA are sexually transmitted.

On a more personal basis, “the declaration signals the urgency for pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika – this action could encourage residents to take protective measures”, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an expert on infectious disease and senior associate at the UPMC Center for Health Security.

With almost two-thirds of Florida’s public school districts now in session, state Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday briefed school superintendents on efforts to combat the Zika virus. Test subjects will be monitored for two years to determine if the vaccine is safe and if it causes the immune system to make antibodies capable of fighting Zika. That’s one additional case since last week.

The virus is most seen in Latin America and the Caribbean. They say without a massive eradication of mosquitoes, treatment and speeded-up research, the virus will spread quickly. This too has been linked to Zika.