Man tests positive for Zika virus after visit abroad

As pregnant women are at risk of having babies with Zika-related birth defects, pregnant women and their partners are especially encouraged to attend, said Nykole Tyson, the director of public relations at the Health Department. But the case is mysterious: As far as health officials can tell, the caregiver wasn’t exposed to Zika in a way that would transmit the virus, at least from what’s now known about Zika. “We sought to more directly investigate which mosquito is responsible for spreading Zika virus so that we can selectively tailor our mosquito control efforts to a specific mosquito species’ habits”.

In a bid to strengthen laboratory capacity, the ministry has ordered an additional PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine dedicated to Zika virus testing for the UHWI virology lab. ELISA test kits have been procured, in collaboration with PAHO, to allow for testing of persons for whom the initial 3-5 day window for PCR testing may have been missed. They include one in New Jersey.

The Garden State hosted the first Zika-affected baby born in the continental U.S. In addition to the grants, which pay for supplies, staffing and more, and the larvae-eating fish, which will be deployed in standing water over the summer, the DEP is providing each county a pair of motorized mosquito traps and 1,000 “mosquito dunks” – tablets that will kill the larvae without harming a waterway’s ecology.

US health officials have warned to expect local transmission of the virus from mosquitoes but not to expect widespread transmission, as has been seen in Puerto Rico and throughout the Americas.

The World Health Organisation declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for Zika in February and has recommended that people travelling to Brazil cover up as much as their bare skin as possible and apply insect repellent frequently.

A case of Zika virus has been detected in an adult man in Alaska who contracted the illness in Central America earlier this month, according to the Alaska Division of Public Health.

Addressing a Ministry of Health/Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) parish town hall meeting on July 21, the minister said Jamaica’s participation forms part of an worldwide study and fight against zika. He said they probably are not, because not everyone with Zika goes to the doctor. Nineteen of those cases were newly reported Friday in the state’s daily Zika update.