A female Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen in a test tube in a laboratory conducting research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, at the entomology department of the Ministry of Public Health in Guatemala City on February 4, 2016. REUTERS / Josue Decavele
By Kami Klein
According to a Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control news release and Fox news health report, officials announced a new pool of Zika infested mosquitoes were trapped. The news release says that officials learned about the new pool on Monday from trap 5 which is in the previously designated Zika transmission zone near Little Haiti.
The insects had been collected Oct. 5th.
A large portion of Miami Beach remains an active Zika infection zone. Officials announced last week that several people had been infected with Zika in a 1-square-mile area of Miami just north of the Little Haiti neighborhood.
According to the CDC Website, Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. These mosquitoes bite both during the day and night. There is no known vaccine or medicine for Zika but governments around the world are dedicating millions for research and a possible vaccine. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. So far there have been 878 reported cases of pregnant women with the Zika virus in the United States and District of Columbia with 1,806 reported in U.S. Territories.
Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Other problems have been detected among fetuses and infants infected with Zika virus before birth, such as defects of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth. There have also been increased reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome, an uncommon sickness of the nervous system, in areas affected by Zika.
The following are the statistics of Zika cases as of October 6th, 2016. The top states reporting most cases being travel associated are New York with 858 cases, Florida 708, California, 298 and Texas at 228. Virtually every state has had reports of the Zika virus.
US States
- Locally acquired mosquito-borne cases reported: 128
- Travel-associated cases reported: 3,807
- Laboratory acquired cases reported: 1
- Total: 3,936
- Sexually transmitted: 32
- Guillain-Barré syndrome: 13
US Territories
- Locally acquired cases reported: 25,871
- Travel-associated cases reported: 84
- Total: 25,955*
- Guillain-Barré syndrome: 40
Find out more facts on the Zika virus including tips for keeping your family safe at the CDC Website .
