Protecting an unborn baby from harm is the one of the few things mothers universally strive to do. So it is difficult to imagine the fear and anxiety experienced right now by any expectant mother who lives in or is visiting the Miami area.
[lz_jwplayer video= “pudlitGY” ads=”true”]
The confirmed number of Zika infections continues to grow in one North Miami neighborhood — the first region in the country to see local transmission of the virus. Since the virus can cause devastating birth defects, women who are pregnant are advised to avoid travel to the area and families who live there currently are advised to take every precaution to avoid mosquito bites.
But how realistic is all of this, really?
To be told the health of your baby comes down whether or not you or your partner have been bitten by a Zika-carrying mosquito has to be a terrifying situation. Do you stay where you are and hope for the best? Do you not take any chances and leave immediately? Do you even want to know — if it’s already too late?
These are decisions some families may be making quickly.
State and federal health officials confirmed Monday that despite eradication efforts, monitoring of mosquito populations in the affected area suggests continued active transmission of Zika virus — which means, as experts have predicted now for months, that they expect the virus to spread.
“Biggest thing is, [there should be] no standing water in your house or around your house,” said Florida Gov. Rick Scott in a press conference. “These mosquitoes are not mosquitoes that fly long distance. The way it was explained to me is that they’re not active biters. But we have someone that travels here from another country — they bring in an active case with them, a mosquito bites them, then bites a Florida citizen or visitor.”
“We continue to work closely with Florida public health officials to investigate the infections identified in Miami and to intensify mosquito control efforts to reduce the risk of additional infections,” Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., said in a statement. Petersen is incident manager for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Zika Response and director of its division of Vector-Borne Diseases. “Florida officials are experienced in this type of work, and together we are working to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating effects of this virus.”
[lz_bulleted_list title=”Zika in the U.S.” source=”http://www.cdc.gov, as of July 27, 2016″]U.S. States and D.C.: 1,658|U.S. Territories: 4,750[/lz_bulleted_list]
The CDC has an eight-member Emergency Response Team (CERT) with experts in Zika virus, pregnancy and birth defects, vector control, laboratory science, and risk communications who are in Miami as of Tuesday, Aug. 2, to assist in the response.
Health experts are recommending that anyone who might have traveled to or lived in the Florida-designated areas on or after June 15, 2016 — the earliest known date that one of the people could have been infected with Zika — talk with their doctor and get tested for the virus.
In the meantime, health officials remind couples to avoid sexual transmission of the virus as well as mosquito bites. Guidelines for sexual transmission of Zika were updated last week to emphasize there is no safe way to have sex without protection if one partner is infected.
[lz_ndn video=31218130]
The CDC recommends that the sexual partners of pregnant women who live in or who have traveled to this area should consistently and correctly use condoms or other barriers against infection during sex — or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
Women and men who traveled to this area should additionally wait at least eight weeks before trying for a pregnancy; men with symptoms of Zika should wait at least six months before trying for a pregnancy.
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.