The Zika virus could arrive in the continental U.S. in the next few weeks, carried here by travelers and spread by local mosquitoes, said Scott Weaver, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Doctors have already diagnosed 472 cases of Zika in travelers who carried the virus to the U.S. after visiting affected countries or territories. Twenty percent of these travel-related cases were in Florida.
As of May 4, 2016 (5 am EST)
- Zika virus disease and Zika virus congenital infection are nationally notifiable conditions.
- This update from the CDC Arboviral Disease Branch includes provisional data reported to ArboNET for January 1, 2015 – May 4, 2016.
US States
- Travel-associated Zika virus disease cases reported: 472
- Locally acquired vector-borne cases reported: 0
- Total: 472
- Pregnant: 44
- Sexually transmitted: 10
- Guillain-Barré syndrome: 1
US Territories
- Travel-associated cases reported: 3
- Locally acquired cases reported: 658
- Total: 661
- Pregnant: 59
- Guillain-Barré syndrome: 5
Recent heavy rains, which caused dangerous flooding in Houston, could multiply the number of mosquitoes, including the species that carries the virus, the Aedes aegypti.
“It only takes one infected person to arrive in a location with Aedes aegypti and then the transmission cycle is off and running,” Weaver said. “We want to do everything we can to reduce that risk.”
Cities with large international airports and a constant stream of tourists, such as Miami and New Orleans, could be at greater risk, but also tend to have more resources to tamp down on an outbreak.
New Orleans, which has a long history of robust mosquito control programs, was one of the first cities in the country to create a Zika action plan. The 50-page document lays out prevention strategies and steps to take at each stage of an outbreak.
If Zika spreads among local mosquitoes, for example, the city will dispatch “Zika Outreach Teams” to neighborhoods where the virus is detected. The teams will hang signs on doors and talk to residents about how to prevent mosquito bites and eliminate the standing water in backyard containers that can allow mosquitoes to breed. If needed, teams will remove standing water and report any sites where the insects are breeding to the mosquito-control department.
Houston formed a Zika response team in January. Mosquito-control teams test mosquitoes for Zika to gauge whether the virus has infiltrated the U.S., said Mustapha Debboun, director of mosquito control in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. Although there’s no sign of the virus, Debboun’s team takes every opportunity to educate people about ways to reduce their risk of Zika.
While no federal agency is monitoring the nation’s progress against Zika, it’s clear that many states are taking the threat seriously, said James Blumenstock of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
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credit: WFAA.com
