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NYC reports microcephaly; Florida probes possible 2nd local Zika case
Filed Under:
Zika
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Jul 22, 2016
New York City health officials today reported the first baby born with Zika-related microcephaly in a local hospital, a day after Florida said it was investigating a second suspected local Zika case, this one in Broward County.
Elsewhere, Puerto Rico's governor today turned down a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposal for aerial spraying for mosquitoes.
The rapidly evolving developments come a day after federal officials announced $60 million more to help states battle Zika virus and as the nation and its territories are well into their summer mosquito seasons.
Baby's mother got sick in an affected area
In a statement, New York City's health department (NYC Health) said the baby's mother was infected while in an area of ongoing Zika transmission. The baby has been diagnosed as having microcephaly and other brain problems, and tests were positive for Zika virus infection, NYC Health said in a press release.
NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, said in the statement, While not surprising, given the travel trends of our global city, this case is a strong reminder of the tragic consequences of the Zika virus. We are monitoring the baby's health closely and connecting the family with the necessary services to take care of their child."
At a media briefing streamed live online today, Bassett said she learned of the case yesterday and that the baby was born this month. To protect the family's privacy health officials offered no other details, but said they were working with the CDC on the case.
Jay Varma, MD, the health department's deputy commissioner for disease control, said 41 pregnant women who were infected with Zika virus have been reported in the city, the number is growing, and the cases are being evaluated on a regular basis.
NYC Health said the mayor had invested $21 million in Zika preparedness, which included expanding testing capacity and dedicating a call center for health providers to process lab results. As of Jul 15 NYC Health has tested about 2,000 pregnant women.
Because of travel patterns and large populations of immigrants from areas where the virus is circulating, and according to the CDC's latest totals, New York leads the nation in travel-related Zika cases. So far the city has reported 346 cases, including 4 sexually transmitted infections. More than half of infected people reported travel to the Dominican Republic.
Yesterday in an update the CDC said 18 poor birth outcomes have been reported in pregnant women infected with Zika virus, including 12 live births and 6 pregnancy losses.
Florida probes second case
In other Zika developments, the Florida Department of Health yesterday said it was investigating another suspected case involving local transmission, its second such announcement this week. In a statement, it said the possible nontravel-related case is in Broward County, which neighbors Miami-Dade County, the location of the first suspected local case.
In a news release yesterday, Florida Health said Gov Rick Scott asked the state's surgeon general to request help from a CDC medical epidemiologist with investigations into both cases. That help arrived today in the form of Marc Fischer, MD, MPH, a CDC medical epidemiologist, Florida Health said in its daily Zika update.
In the press release, Florida Health said Zika kits and repellent are being distributed to pregnant women in the affected area of Broward County, including through doctors' offices. Health officials are asking residents and visitors to cooperate with requests for blood and urine for testing in the investigation areas.
In its update today, Florida Health said so far about 200 people have been interviewed and tested as part of the two investigations, that it is waiting for more lab results, and that it would share more details when available. It noted that door-to-door outreach with mosquito control is under way in the homes, workplaces, and other locations the two suspected case-patients frequented.
Since yesterday, the state has received reports of 19 more travel-related Zika cases, 1 involving a pregnant woman. It now has 353 such illnesses, 47 of them in pregnant women.
News of the first suspected local case prompted OneBlood, which provides blood services throughout Florida and to parts of Georgia and South Carolina, to announce yesterday that it will start testing donated blood for Zika virus on Aug 1 using a new test that was granted emergency use authorization.
The first step is to screen a portion of collections in unaffected areas, making those blood products available to hospitals with high-risk patients, such as pregnant women, the company said in a statement.
If the case is confirmed as local, OneBlood would stop collections in the affected zip code and supply that area with blood from an unaffected area.
Spraying nixed; other developments
See also:
Jul 22 NYC Health press release
NYC Health Zika background and totals
Jul 21 Florida Health press release
Jul 22 Florida Health Zika update
Jul 21 OneBlood press release
Jul 12 CIDRAP News story "Experts warn spraying may not be very effective against Aedes"
NYC reports microcephaly; Florida probes possible 2nd local Zika case
Filed Under:
Zika
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Jul 22, 2016
New York City health officials today reported the first baby born with Zika-related microcephaly in a local hospital, a day after Florida said it was investigating a second suspected local Zika case, this one in Broward County.
Elsewhere, Puerto Rico's governor today turned down a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposal for aerial spraying for mosquitoes.
The rapidly evolving developments come a day after federal officials announced $60 million more to help states battle Zika virus and as the nation and its territories are well into their summer mosquito seasons.
Baby's mother got sick in an affected area
In a statement, New York City's health department (NYC Health) said the baby's mother was infected while in an area of ongoing Zika transmission. The baby has been diagnosed as having microcephaly and other brain problems, and tests were positive for Zika virus infection, NYC Health said in a press release.
NYC Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, said in the statement, While not surprising, given the travel trends of our global city, this case is a strong reminder of the tragic consequences of the Zika virus. We are monitoring the baby's health closely and connecting the family with the necessary services to take care of their child."
At a media briefing streamed live online today, Bassett said she learned of the case yesterday and that the baby was born this month. To protect the family's privacy health officials offered no other details, but said they were working with the CDC on the case.
Jay Varma, MD, the health department's deputy commissioner for disease control, said 41 pregnant women who were infected with Zika virus have been reported in the city, the number is growing, and the cases are being evaluated on a regular basis.
NYC Health said the mayor had invested $21 million in Zika preparedness, which included expanding testing capacity and dedicating a call center for health providers to process lab results. As of Jul 15 NYC Health has tested about 2,000 pregnant women.
Because of travel patterns and large populations of immigrants from areas where the virus is circulating, and according to the CDC's latest totals, New York leads the nation in travel-related Zika cases. So far the city has reported 346 cases, including 4 sexually transmitted infections. More than half of infected people reported travel to the Dominican Republic.
Yesterday in an update the CDC said 18 poor birth outcomes have been reported in pregnant women infected with Zika virus, including 12 live births and 6 pregnancy losses.
Florida probes second case
In other Zika developments, the Florida Department of Health yesterday said it was investigating another suspected case involving local transmission, its second such announcement this week. In a statement, it said the possible nontravel-related case is in Broward County, which neighbors Miami-Dade County, the location of the first suspected local case.
In a news release yesterday, Florida Health said Gov Rick Scott asked the state's surgeon general to request help from a CDC medical epidemiologist with investigations into both cases. That help arrived today in the form of Marc Fischer, MD, MPH, a CDC medical epidemiologist, Florida Health said in its daily Zika update.
In the press release, Florida Health said Zika kits and repellent are being distributed to pregnant women in the affected area of Broward County, including through doctors' offices. Health officials are asking residents and visitors to cooperate with requests for blood and urine for testing in the investigation areas.
In its update today, Florida Health said so far about 200 people have been interviewed and tested as part of the two investigations, that it is waiting for more lab results, and that it would share more details when available. It noted that door-to-door outreach with mosquito control is under way in the homes, workplaces, and other locations the two suspected case-patients frequented.
Since yesterday, the state has received reports of 19 more travel-related Zika cases, 1 involving a pregnant woman. It now has 353 such illnesses, 47 of them in pregnant women.
News of the first suspected local case prompted OneBlood, which provides blood services throughout Florida and to parts of Georgia and South Carolina, to announce yesterday that it will start testing donated blood for Zika virus on Aug 1 using a new test that was granted emergency use authorization.
The first step is to screen a portion of collections in unaffected areas, making those blood products available to hospitals with high-risk patients, such as pregnant women, the company said in a statement.
If the case is confirmed as local, OneBlood would stop collections in the affected zip code and supply that area with blood from an unaffected area.
Spraying nixed; other developments
- Puerto Rico's governor today rejected a CDC suggestion to begin aerial spraying for mosquitoes with naled, and said he will support spraying with Bti, (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) an organic larvicide, the Associated Press (AP) reported today. The CDC has suggested aerial spraying as part of an integrated mosquito control program for the territory, which has been experiencing a surge of Zika activity. According to the AP, Puerto Ricans have organized protests about naled's possible impact on humans and wildlife. Puerto Rico's government was angered when the CDC sent the territory an unannounced shipment of naled, for which the CDC apologized today, saying it moved too quickly in the event that Puerto Rican officials would want to use the pesticide.
- A multidisciplinary mission will visit Guinea-Bissau next week to help investigate its recent local Zika cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly update yesterday. Four positive samples were sent to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar on July 1 for gene sequencing to determine if the outbreak strain is the one fueling the outbreak in the Americas or the one that has circulated for many decades in Africa. Results are still pending, the WHO said.
- Colombia's number of Zika-related microcephaly cases and related birth defects continues to grow, with 21 now reported, the WHO also noted in its weekly update. The number increased by 3 from last week. Brazil also reported 22 more confirmed cases, boosting its total to 1,709.
- The Caribbean island of Saba, a territory of the Netherlands, reported its first local Zika virus transmission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said today in its latest weekly communicable disease threats report. St Eustatius, Saba's neighbor to the southeast, also recently reported its first local case.
See also:
Jul 22 NYC Health press release
NYC Health Zika background and totals
Jul 21 Florida Health press release
Jul 22 Florida Health Zika update
Jul 21 OneBlood press release
Jul 12 CIDRAP News story "Experts warn spraying may not be very effective against Aedes"