One word has consistently dominated news outlets worldwide this summer: Zika. And it is with good reason. The mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 60 countries and territories, and cases have reached epidemic levels in Central and South America and throughout the Caribbean.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been monitoring the virus and has increased mosquito-prevention efforts. But experts predicted it would only be a matter of time before Zika spread to the U.S., and now a small area of Miami is experiencing a cluster of local Zika cases.
The Florida Health Department recently reported 16 local Zika cases all linked back to a small section of a northern part of Miami called Wynwood. Teams from the department discovered many of the cases by going door-to-door in the area and conducting tests. Many of those who tested positive were unaware they were infected with the virus because they were asymptomatic. Research has found that 4 out of 5 people with the virus experience no symptoms.
Upon the discovery of the cluster of new cases, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called on help from the CDC. The CDC immediately issued a travel warning for pregnant women and their partners, advising them to avoid the Wynwood area — the first such warning to ever be issued for an American neighborhood.
CDC Director Tom Frieden advises that pregnant women who have traveled to or live in areas with Zika should be tested, even if they are not showing symptoms. Women who have traveled to the Wynwood area who are not currently expecting are being advised to wait to conceive for up to eight weeks after leaving.
Other precautions that should be taken by pregnant women include using proper contraception during sexual activity, wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants when outdoors and using bug spray with 25 percent DEET.
Men, on the other hand, are being advised to wait up to six months conceive if they have traveled to the Wynwood area. This is because semen is a big risk factor in the spread of Zika. Studies have shown the virus can live in semen for up to 93 days. In the U.S., 16 cases have been transmitted sexually. But since that number is small in comparison to the total number of reported infections in the U.S., the CDC still thinks mosquito bites are the No. 1 way the virus is transmitted.
Tourists stop for a photo in the Wynwood Art District in Miami. The neighborhood is the site of a Zika virus outbreak.
Although the Florida Health Department has been diligent about spraying for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that carries the virus, spraying has been limited to backpack and truck-mounted spraying with the pyrethroid insecticide.
Aedes aegypti often breed in small pools of standing water, which can be found all over any large city, making the mosquito hard to eliminate. Following recommendations from the CDC, aerial spraying of a different type of insecticide known as naled is now being conducted in order to target more breeding areas.
The CDC is also exploring alternative ways to combat Zika and prevent its spread. Perhaps the most aggressive method is currently being tested in Key Haven, Florida. U.K.-based company Oxitec has created a genetically engineered male mosquito that is able to mate with female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The Oxitec mosquito has a self-limiting gene that causes all offspring it produces to die before reaching adulthood. Because the mosquitoes are genetically altered and do not bite — only female mosquitoes bite — they do not pose a threat to humans or other animals if eaten.
For now, the cases of Zika in Miami seems to be limited to a small area, and authorities are working hard to keep it that way. The average Aedes aegypti mosquito only flies about 500 feet in its lifetime, so officials are hoping that spraying efforts and education will help keep the virus at bay in Miami.
The CDC has released a 57-page document that outlines guidelines officials should follow when responding to Zika in their area. "States should designate the smallest easily identifiable location that completely encompasses the geographic area for intervention," the plan notes.
Health officials are advising all areas of the United States to take the threat of Zika seriously. And with millions of travelers vacationing in Zika-infected areas in Central America and the Caribbean this summer, the possibility of Zika spreading in the U.S. is a real possibility.
