Miami, Florida thinks it has the first locally acquired case of Zika. This is despite efforts to spray for the mosquito. The new case won’t be officially declared US transmission until the CDC confirms it.
Zika has peaked in South America, but North Americans are still at risk.
The peak has nothing to do with the disease going away, mosquitoes under control, or better treatments/a cure—the only reason it’s peaked is because it’s so virulent pretty much everyone in affected countries have caught the disease and are now presumed immune. For everyone just visiting? They can still get sick, and still bring it back to their home countries (especially since most people don’t show symptoms).
And while we have superior mosquito control, it doesn’t really apply to Aedes aegypti, which can carry Zika. A. aegypti likes to live close to humans, in our homes, under our beds, and thrives in homes without air conditioning. Florida is the most at risk—there are lots of people going back and forth between infected countries, and a hardy A. aegypti population since it’s more humid than California (and the South West in general). The South in general is expected to get hit hard.
And for every reported case (excepting pregnant women who are universally tested now) there are about four symptomless cases, making it harder to track which counties might be infected and in need of more prevention/monitoring. (As well as a lot more potential undocumented locally transmitted cases).
With that in mind, it’s important to take prevention into your own hands. Debug your home and focus on your bedroom and any still water (they can breed in a thimble and survive drying out for weeks). Support your immune system with the usuals—nutrition, exercise, sleep—as well as a little something extra, like colloidal silver.
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