Zika In Late Summer: An Update

With the fluidity of the Zika situation, we thought it necessary to provide a summation of recent Zika news and discoveries to help you stay up to speed as to the risks.

Zika in Miami

Miami is the first and at this point only place where Zika has been transmitted locally in the continental U.S. from a mosquito. Which means the infected mosquito got Zika by biting an infected person in Miami. The CDC has issued a travel warning for pregnant women to all of Miami-Dade County since more cases sprung up in Miami Beach over the weekend. Last week a man from El Paso was confirmed to have contracted it while traveling to Miami, taking it back home with him. So there could begin the cycle. If you know you have Zika it is imperative that you DO NOT get bitten by a mosquito.

Zika in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico reported almost 2,000 new cases of Zika in one week earlier this month. The Surgeon General says he expects 25% of the entire population to have Zika by the end of this year. 10,690 people have been infected in Puerto Rico by Zika and health authorities think that number is higher. Many people with the virus show no symptoms and never realize they have it. However, that will not keep them from passing it on to another human via sexual contact or a mosquito that bites them.

Babies With Birth Defects

16 babies have been born in the United States with Zika related birth defects according to the CDC pregnancy registry. This statistic is as of August 4th and along with those births there have been 5 in womb deaths and two newborn deaths, all Zika related. These numbers are likely to climb.

Zika Not a Factor At Olympics: Will it Be When Athletes Arrive Home?

The Olympics are over and while Zika didn’t create the immediate issues in Rio that some may have been concerned with we don’t know what might happen next. The CDC is at present researching how long Zika stays in the human system. Their findings lean toward the fact that Zika might remain in semen much longer than other bodily fluids. Since often someone with Zika may not show any symptoms, a male could come home from a trip to Rio, and if he and his partner want to have a child, they may need to wait much longer than previously thought before they begin to try.

There is no doubt that this virus travels fast and is dangerous. The information is also ever changing. Scientists and government agencies are putting new information out weekly.

At Mosquito Squad of Wilmington and Mosquito Squad of the Grand Strand we are committed to getting this information to you. We also want to ease your worry about mosquito and tick-borne illnesses with our mosquito barrier and tick mist services. Please call one of our locations today and let’s discuss the best solution for you and your family.