Health officials confirmed the latest numbers in their daily report during a “Zeroing in on Zika: From the Front Lines” forum held on Thursday.
Besides the 84 pregnant women testing positive for the Zika virus, Florida has 604 travel-related cases and 56 locally-transmitted cases of the virus. The forum came a day after a woman who had tested positive for the Zika virus gave birth to a baby with microcephaly at Jackson Memorial Hospital, reports CNN.
Dr. Christine Curry said that Jackson Memorial has delivered 15 women who have tested positive for the Zika virus. Those women are being monitored by doctors at the hospital. “Zika is a thing. Zika is real, and while we don’t understand it fully, that is not a reason to dismiss its impact,” Curry said during a commission meeting Wednesday.
Officials say two areas in Miami-Dade County, including Miami Beach, have been identified as hot spots for the mosquito-carried virus. Investigators are going door-to-door doing surveys and “target testing” in Pinellas and Palm Beach counties and other areas of Miami-Dade County where locally transmitted cases of Zika have turned up, reports News4Jax.
Health officials are again warning pregnant women who live in the Miami-Dade area or who plan to travel to the area to wear insect repellent, long sleeves, and limit the amount of time spent outdoors.
Spraying with naled resumed on Friday
Despite the protests over the use of naled, a pesticide approved by the Environmental Protection Agency that targets adult mosquitoes, aerial spraying over the Miami area was completed this morning. This was done despite the concerns over the possible health and environmental impact of the chemical.
Health officials have been spraying a pesticide and larvicide on the ground in areas where they believe the mosquitoes are breeding. The aerial spraying was in addition to the ground spraying.
The EPA says the amount of naled used is minimal and perfectly safe for the environment, humans and pets. “Aerial spraying using Naled and other insecticides has been used in many populated areas of the continental United States, including Miami, Tampa, and New Orleans to help control mosquitoes,” the CDC said on its website. The CDC website was updated on August 8.
The EPA’s web page on the safety of naled was updated on August 15, 2016. The agency goes to great lengths to assure the public of the safety of the organophosphate. But it must not be quite as safe as officials say it is because 22 European countries have banned its use. And closer to home, Puerto Rico will not allow the chemical to be used.
