Disease

Puerto Rico is in the midst of a Zika epidemic

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ArboNET, as of July 7, Zika has been diagnosed in 5,582 people, including 672 pregnant women, in Puerto Rico according to a new report published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Positive tests for people with suspected Zika virus infection have increased from 14 percent in February to 64 percent in June. Positive tests through blood supply screening also increased, reaching 1.8 percent during the latest week of reporting, which started on July 3.

Many of the 5,582 people who tested positive for Zika virus infections were tested because they had symptoms of Zika. Because Zika infection during pregnancy can harm the developing fetus, pregnant women in Puerto Rico and other areas where Zika is spreading should be routinely tested during prenatal care whether or not they got sick. Of the 672 pregnant women, 441 (66 percent) experienced symptoms of Zika and 231 (34 percent) had no symptoms. Because approximately 80 percent of people infected with Zika do not have symptoms, the 672 pregnant women with evidence of Zika infection likely represent only a fraction of those who may be infected to date.

In addition, 21 people with confirmed or suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome in Puerto Rico had evidence of Zika virus infection or recent unspecified flavivirus infection, and one person died after developing severe thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count).

Florida, USA  - Zika Virus

Four cases of Zika infection in Florida are very likely to have been caused by mosquitoes there, the State Department of Health said Friday — the first documented instances of local transmission in the continental United States.

The C.D.C. and Florida officials said that for now, the area of concern is limited to one square mile in the Wynwood neighbourhood of Miami, a gentrifying area with restaurants and art galleries just north of downtown.

Researchers had long predicted that the Zika virus would gain a toehold in the continental United States, most likely in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. While the outbreak is not expected to escalate sharply, its course is uncertain.

None of the four patients in Miami had traveled to Zika-affected areas in Latin America or the Caribbean.