As northern Florida confronts the heavy winds and rains of Hurricane Hermine, biology experts warn that the storm may aid the spread of the Zika virus, now confirmed to be present in mosquitos in the state.
170 cases of Zika virus infection have been confirmed in California alone in 2015 and 2016, as the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warns travelers returning home from the Rio Olympics or other Zika-affected regions to take precautions to avoid spreading the virus.
Florida has begun an aerial insecticide spraying campaign against the mosquito known to carry Zika, as health officials brace for a new wave of locally transmitted diseases and fear the outbreak could have already spread outside Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.
The United States is already home to hundreds of Zika patients, with a local transmission hub in the territory of Puerto Rico. But health officials are warning that Zika-carrying mosquitos could be sweeping the continental U.S. within the next month, making it extremely difficult for the government to track who has Zika and prevent it from spreading.
Hawaii’s governor David Ige declared a state of emergency for mosquito-borne illnesses on Sunday, including Zika and dengue fever. The latter has been an especially urgent concern, with over 250 confirmed cases of dengue reported during the current outbreak.
An American researcher, who identified the Zika virus as a potential threat in 2009, tells the journal Wired that it would have been impossible to attain funding to research Zika exclusively five years ago, as few believed it had the potential to cause an outbreak as large as that currently underway in Latin America.
Facing significant shortages of imported insect repellants in light of Latin America’s Zika pandemic, Argentines are turning to an online market selling mosquito-eating frogs and toads to protect their homes from Aedes aegypti, the carrier of Zika, Dengue fever, and Chikungunya.
As Brazil struggles to contain the Zika virus in what has now become a pandemic, the nation officially begins its annual Carnival. Despite experts deeming the scantily clad nationwide block party an “explosive cocktail” for a mosquito-borne illness, thousands are expected to flood the streets of the nation’s biggest cities and have a good time.
Aggressive tropical mosquitos–a breed that can carry the Zika virus–have been found in Orange County, California. The invasive species–which can also carry yellow fever, dengue fever and chinungunya–could pose a risk to the public.
