Florida authorities today reported the first case of 2017 of Zika infection by sexual contact in Miami-Dade County, in the south of the state, where there is no active outbreak.
The state Department of Health indicated that the case corresponds to a person whose partner recently traveled to Cuba, an island in the Caribbean that records an active outbreak of Zika and where he would have acquired the disease. Both have tested positive, according to the authorities.
According to spokespersons of the state agency told Efe, months ago in Florida another case of acquisition of Zika via sex, in Manatee County, and also involving a person who was recently in Cuba, which infected another with the who had sex.
“As we have recalled, Zika can be transmitted sexually, and it is important to take precautions if you or your partner traveled to an area where Zika is active,” the state Department of Health said in a statement.
The mosquito control specialists of the Government of Florida have developed the corresponding protocols to reduce the activity of insects and to confirm if there is a scenario of active transmission of Zika in the area.
Previously, health authorities have stated that according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline on this disease, an isolated case is not enough to declare the area as “active transmission zone”.
In the middle of last month, this state agency reported the first case of local transmission of Zika so far this year, also reported in Manatee County, in the western part of the state.
The case was due to the bite of a mosquito in the residence of a couple that recently was in Cuba, one of which showed symptoms of the disease shortly after the trip. The authorities estimate that the mosquito stung the infected person in Cuba and, once with the virus, stung the couple
Florida reported last year an outbreak of Zika transmitted by local mosquitoes, the first in the United States.
Zika is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes “Aedes aegypti” or from person to person sexually. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to the child who waits, who at the same time may suffer from microcephaly and neurological problems.
According to figures from the Florida Department of Health, from January 1 to date there have been 205 cases of Zika registered, of which 172 correspond to people who were infected abroad.
The figure includes eleven cases of local transmission corresponding to 2016 but confirmed by tests in 2017 and 32 of which the details are not known.
Of the total of cases studied this year, 112 correspond to pregnant women.
