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Pregnant women told to delay travel to Florida over Zika virus fears Pregnant women told to delay travel to Florida over Zika virus fears
(about 7 hours later)
Pregnant women should avoid all non-essential trips to Florida because of the potential for contracting the Zika virus, UK officials have said, as thousands of Britons are expected to visit the popular tourist destination. Pregnant women should avoid all non-essential trips to Florida because of the risk of contracting the Zika virus, British officials have said, after the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the US mainland were confirmed in the state. The advice comes as thousands prepare to visit the popular tourist destination.
Public Health England updated its travel advice after the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the US mainland appeared in the state. PHE has said the risk in the southern US state is moderate, while in many countries in South America, including the Olympics host Brazil, it is high. Florida and national health officials reported the first local transmission of the Zika virus in a US state on Friday, as the state began an “aggressive” investigation and federal authorities short of funding braced themselves for a health crisis.
Fifty-three people have been treated in the UK for the Zika virus, which is predominantly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Governor Rick Scott reported that four people in southern Florida were likely to have contracted the virus through local mosquito bites, even though no insect trapped and tested in the state has yet proved positive for the virus.
The virus has caused Guillain-Barré syndrome in a small number of people in Latin America, which can be triggered by viral attacks on the immune system and results in muscle weakness. The biggest concern, however, is the link between Zika infection in pregnant women and brain damage in their babies, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects. “These are the first cases of locally transmitted Zika virus in the continental United States,” said Tom Frieden, the director for the Centers for Disease Control. “Zika is now here.”
Fourteen countries have reported microcephaly cases, and the first baby born in Europe with the condition was reported in Spain this week. The mother had contracted both dengue fever and the Zika virus while travelling in Latin America. Although health officials have confirmed more than 1,600 cases of the virus across America, every patient bar the four reported in Florida contracted the disease either travelling abroad or through sexual transmission. In Puerto Rico, there are more than 4,500 cases of the virus, virtually all contracted through mosquitoes.
In the US, more than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported, but on Friday the governor of Florida said four people in the southern part of the state were likely to have contracted the virus through bites from local mosquitoes rather than travel abroad. As many as 50 pregnant women a day are affected in the US territory, according to the Centers for Disease Control. “This is a silent epidemic that is rapidly spreading through Puerto Rico,” Frieden said.
“This morning we learned that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite,” Rick Scott said. “This means Florida has become the first state in our nation to have local transmission. Florida is taking an aggressive approach. We have worked hard to stay ahead of the spread of Zika and prepare for the worst.” The Florida report followed an announcement on Thursday that blood donations had been suspended in the affected area until all current samples could be tested. Two of the cases suspected of local transmission were in Miami-Dade county and two in Broward county, Scott said. The patients included one woman and three men, and none has needed hospital care.
The cases were not confirmed, but as no insect trapped for testing has yet been proved to be carrying the disease, a statement from the Florida department of health said: “The department believes these [four] cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area.” Health officials believe that the infections occurred in an area of about a square mile just north of downtown Miami. Officials are now going door to door in the area offering to test people, and Scott said that they would be “aggressively testing”.
More than a million British nationals visit Florida each year. The updated travel advice from PHE, which comes as many are expected to visit the state’s theme parks this summer, reads: “The risk in Florida is considered moderate based on the number and spread of cases and their demonstrated ability to implement effective control measures for similar diseases such as dengue – a virus transmitted by the same mosquito. “While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area,” the Florida health department said. “All the evidence we have seen indicates that this is mosquito-borne transmission that occurred several weeks ago in several blocks in Miami,” Frieden added.
“Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy. Earlier in July, authorities began investigating the possible first local transmission of Zika, but Scott’s near-confirmation on Friday amounted to a serious development of the feared health crisis. There have been 386 cases of Zika reported in Florida so far, mostly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Fifty-five pregnant women have been affected.
“At present, only a zone of about one square mile in Miami-Dade County is considered at risk of active transmission.” “Florida is taking an aggressive approach,” Scott confirmed. “We have worked hard to stay ahead of the spread of Zika and prepare for the worst.”
The World Health Organisation and PHE are also warning athletes taking part in the Brazil Olympics or people planning to go to Rio to protect themselves against bites while there and take precautions when they return. Scott emphasised that there had been no reported cases of local transmission of Zika in central parts of the state. The Orlando area is teeming with summer visitors from all over the US and the globe, attending the cluster of theme parks such as Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito cannot live in the UK’s cooler climate, but there is a very small risk of infection through sex. PHE says men and women should use condoms for eight weeks after returning from a Zika virus area and for six months if they experience any symptoms themselves. Officials fear local transmission because local mosquitoes could spread the disease far more rapidly than isolated travel or sex.
Prof Paul Cosford, PHE’s medical director, said in a statement on Friday: “We expect to see small numbers of Zika virus infections in travellers returning to the UK, but the risk to the wider population is very low as the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus is not found in the UK. As of 27 July 2016, over 50 cases have been diagnosed in UK travellers since January 2016. Public Health England is monitoring the international situation closely and the risk to the UK remains unchanged. More than a million British nationals visit Florida each year. The updated travel advice from Public Health England, which comes as many are expected to visit the state’s theme parks this summer, reads: “The risk in Florida is considered moderate based on the number and spread of cases and their demonstrated ability to implement effective control measures for similar diseases such as dengue – a virus transmitted by the same mosquito.
“If you have recently returned from an area where Zika virus transmissions are currently reported and have a fever or flu-like illness, seek medical attention without delay to exclude malaria and mention your recent travel.” “Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy. At present, only a zone of about one square mile in Miami-Dade county is considered to be at risk of active transmission.” Experts in the UK recently urged expectant mothers to avoid travel to the Olympics in Brazil, which has been hit hard by the disease, and parts of the US, including Florida.
The updated advice comes as reports emerged that the UK might no longer deport pregnant women who do not have the right to stay in Britain if their home country has the Zika virus. There is no treatment or preventive vaccine for Zika. The disease generally produces mild symptoms at worst, such as headache, feverishness and red eyes, and 80% of healthy people who become infected suffer no symptoms. However, the virus has caused Guillain-Barré syndrome in a small number of people in Latin America, and the virus can lead to brain defects in unborn babies, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads.
The Telegraph reported that 22-year-old Daisy Santiago, successfully appealed for her UK visa to be extended after arguing her unborn baby could contract the Zika virus if she were forced to return home to São Paulo, Brazil. The CDC has also warned of probable local outbreaks in other southern coastal states as the summer heats up; poor communities in Texas and Louisiana are seen as particularly vulnerable. Texas reported the first case of Zika transmission in the US in February, believed to have been passed on through sex.
Fifty-three people have so far been treated in the UK for the Zika virus, which is predominantly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.