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Protests delay Miami Zika spraying as funding talks continue
Filed Under:
Zika
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Sep 08, 2016 Protests have prompted Florida to postpone aerial spraying of naled for Miami Beach until tomorrow morning, as Senate funding talks continued amid calls for a streamlined bill.
In other developments, Singapore detailed genetic findings of the Zika strain fueling its outbreak, and the numbers of travel-related cases in US states and local infections in the territories continued to climb.
Protests delay aerial spraying
Florida had set this morning for beginning aerial spraying, but citizens and some local officials who turned out at an informational meeting yesterday objected to the insecticide's use and are calling for input from independent experts, CBS News reported yesterday.
In a statement, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the original spraying decision was made after emergency meeting consultations with state departments, Gov Rick Scott's office, and officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, he said city leaders and residents have asked for more time to prepare and inform Miami Beach residents and visitors about the aerial spraying plan.
He said the spraying will now take place tomorrow at 5:00 am, weather permitting, with more spraying scheduled for Sep 11 and the next two weekends.
According to the CBS report, Miami Beach officials have been told that the mosquito population is growing and that health officials have strongly recommended aerial spraying with naled, used to reduce the number of adult mosquitoes.
On Sep 1, Scott said aerial spraying of the Wynwood neighborhood, the other Zika transmission area, had been effective and that the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) gave Miami-Dade County the resources to immediately conduct aerial spraying in Miami Beach via helicopter as recommended by the CDC.
In July, Puerto Rico rejected a CDC suggestion to begin aerial spraying with naled, following protests about its possible impact on humans and wildlife. Experts have voiced concerns about the expense and effectiveness naled spraying of the often home-dwelling Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while others have said the tool, one of few against the mosquitoes, is worth using, even if only partly effective.
In updates yesterday and today, Florida Health reported no new local Zika infections. The state's number of travel-related cases, however, grew by 31, bringing that total to 604. Also, four more Zika infections in pregnant women have been reported in Florida, lifting that number to 84.
Funding talks continue
Senate leaders appear to be working on a truce behind the scenes to move a Zika funding bill forward without controversial language interpreted as barring Planned Parenthood in Puerto Rico from receiving any of the money, Politico reported today.
The story said, however, that the House of Representatives may take a harder line on any compromise language. According to the report, the House will meet tomorrow to discuss a federal spending bill and Zika funding.
A $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, attached to other unrelated provisions such as relaxing restrictions on mosquito spraying and allowing the Confederate flag to be flown at veterans' cemeteries, failed in a Senate vote on Sep 6.
Any Congressional funding approved for Zika virus is expected to be part of a continuing resolution that needs to be passed by Oct 1 to keep federal agencies funded for the short-term.
Vice President Joe Biden today, at an event in Washington with Senate and House Democrats, urged for a clean Zika funding bill, calling the Zika threat a national emergency, Reuters reported.
Congress is in session until Sep 30, and if it doesn't pass a Zika bill by then, action will be tabled until its members return in November after the election. With Zika spreading locally in Florida and threating other susceptible areas, federal health officials have said they've almost depleted the funding allocated from repurposed Ebola money.
Singapore sequences to help with global tracking
On Sep 2, Singapore's health ministry announced initial genetic findings from Zika samples isolated from two of its recent local cases, and today it released more information about the implications.
The agency said local virus samples are similar to strains that have circulated in Southeast Asia since the 1960s and were not imported from South America.
So far there is no evidence that sheds light on whether infections from the two virus strains vary by type of disease or severity. When shared, the Singapore sequence will help international experts track the spread and evolution of Zika virus.
The health ministry said its national lab and bioinformatics institute will continue to monitor the evolution of the virus in Singapore and the region. In its statement today, officials noted that sequencing of the first imported case in May revealed the virus was similar to South American strains, which was expected since the patient had traveled to Brazil.
Singapore reported nine more Zika cases today, which appears to boost its overall outbreak total since the first local infection was reported in late August to 263 cases, though the health ministry doesn't list an overall total.
CDC: One more baby born with Zika
The CDC said today in its weekly update that one more baby with Zika-related birth defects has been born in the United States. The agency now reports 22 Zika-affected pregnancies, of which 5 were losses. The number of Zika-affected pregnancies in the US territories remained at 2.
Also, the CDC said 156 more Zika infections have been reported in pregnant women, 47 from the US states and 109 from the territories. So far, 671 women from the states are known to be infected, along with 1,080 from the territories.
The number of travel-related Zika infections in the Unites States climbed to 2,920, with 234 more cases reported. In US territories, the number of local infections grew by 1,750 to 15,809, most of them in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.
See also:
Sep 7 CBS News report
Sep 7 Mayor Gimenez statement
Sep 1 Gov Rick Scott statement
Sep 7 Florida Health daily Zika update
Sep 8 Florida Health daily Zika update
Sep 8 Politico story
Sep 8 Reuters story
Sep 8 Singapore health ministry gene sequencing statement
Sep 8 Singapore health ministry daily Zika update
Sep 8 CDC update from Zika pregnancy registries
Sep 8 CDC update on Zika affected pregnancies and births
Sep 8 CDC state and territory Zika case counts
Protests delay Miami Zika spraying as funding talks continue
Filed Under:
Zika
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News
| Sep 08, 2016 Protests have prompted Florida to postpone aerial spraying of naled for Miami Beach until tomorrow morning, as Senate funding talks continued amid calls for a streamlined bill.
In other developments, Singapore detailed genetic findings of the Zika strain fueling its outbreak, and the numbers of travel-related cases in US states and local infections in the territories continued to climb.
Protests delay aerial spraying
Florida had set this morning for beginning aerial spraying, but citizens and some local officials who turned out at an informational meeting yesterday objected to the insecticide's use and are calling for input from independent experts, CBS News reported yesterday.
In a statement, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the original spraying decision was made after emergency meeting consultations with state departments, Gov Rick Scott's office, and officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, he said city leaders and residents have asked for more time to prepare and inform Miami Beach residents and visitors about the aerial spraying plan.
He said the spraying will now take place tomorrow at 5:00 am, weather permitting, with more spraying scheduled for Sep 11 and the next two weekends.
According to the CBS report, Miami Beach officials have been told that the mosquito population is growing and that health officials have strongly recommended aerial spraying with naled, used to reduce the number of adult mosquitoes.
On Sep 1, Scott said aerial spraying of the Wynwood neighborhood, the other Zika transmission area, had been effective and that the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) gave Miami-Dade County the resources to immediately conduct aerial spraying in Miami Beach via helicopter as recommended by the CDC.
In July, Puerto Rico rejected a CDC suggestion to begin aerial spraying with naled, following protests about its possible impact on humans and wildlife. Experts have voiced concerns about the expense and effectiveness naled spraying of the often home-dwelling Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while others have said the tool, one of few against the mosquitoes, is worth using, even if only partly effective.
In updates yesterday and today, Florida Health reported no new local Zika infections. The state's number of travel-related cases, however, grew by 31, bringing that total to 604. Also, four more Zika infections in pregnant women have been reported in Florida, lifting that number to 84.
Funding talks continue
Senate leaders appear to be working on a truce behind the scenes to move a Zika funding bill forward without controversial language interpreted as barring Planned Parenthood in Puerto Rico from receiving any of the money, Politico reported today.
The story said, however, that the House of Representatives may take a harder line on any compromise language. According to the report, the House will meet tomorrow to discuss a federal spending bill and Zika funding.
A $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, attached to other unrelated provisions such as relaxing restrictions on mosquito spraying and allowing the Confederate flag to be flown at veterans' cemeteries, failed in a Senate vote on Sep 6.
Any Congressional funding approved for Zika virus is expected to be part of a continuing resolution that needs to be passed by Oct 1 to keep federal agencies funded for the short-term.
Vice President Joe Biden today, at an event in Washington with Senate and House Democrats, urged for a clean Zika funding bill, calling the Zika threat a national emergency, Reuters reported.
Congress is in session until Sep 30, and if it doesn't pass a Zika bill by then, action will be tabled until its members return in November after the election. With Zika spreading locally in Florida and threating other susceptible areas, federal health officials have said they've almost depleted the funding allocated from repurposed Ebola money.
Singapore sequences to help with global tracking
On Sep 2, Singapore's health ministry announced initial genetic findings from Zika samples isolated from two of its recent local cases, and today it released more information about the implications.
The agency said local virus samples are similar to strains that have circulated in Southeast Asia since the 1960s and were not imported from South America.
So far there is no evidence that sheds light on whether infections from the two virus strains vary by type of disease or severity. When shared, the Singapore sequence will help international experts track the spread and evolution of Zika virus.
The health ministry said its national lab and bioinformatics institute will continue to monitor the evolution of the virus in Singapore and the region. In its statement today, officials noted that sequencing of the first imported case in May revealed the virus was similar to South American strains, which was expected since the patient had traveled to Brazil.
Singapore reported nine more Zika cases today, which appears to boost its overall outbreak total since the first local infection was reported in late August to 263 cases, though the health ministry doesn't list an overall total.
CDC: One more baby born with Zika
The CDC said today in its weekly update that one more baby with Zika-related birth defects has been born in the United States. The agency now reports 22 Zika-affected pregnancies, of which 5 were losses. The number of Zika-affected pregnancies in the US territories remained at 2.
Also, the CDC said 156 more Zika infections have been reported in pregnant women, 47 from the US states and 109 from the territories. So far, 671 women from the states are known to be infected, along with 1,080 from the territories.
The number of travel-related Zika infections in the Unites States climbed to 2,920, with 234 more cases reported. In US territories, the number of local infections grew by 1,750 to 15,809, most of them in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.
See also:
Sep 7 CBS News report
Sep 7 Mayor Gimenez statement
Sep 1 Gov Rick Scott statement
Sep 7 Florida Health daily Zika update
Sep 8 Florida Health daily Zika update
Sep 8 Politico story
Sep 8 Reuters story
Sep 8 Singapore health ministry gene sequencing statement
Sep 8 Singapore health ministry daily Zika update
Sep 8 CDC update from Zika pregnancy registries
Sep 8 CDC update on Zika affected pregnancies and births
Sep 8 CDC state and territory Zika case counts