CDC issues updated plan for local Zika transmission; Florida cases grow to 14

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released an updated interim plan for responding to locally acquired cases of Zika virus infection in the continental U.S. and Hawaii. The Florida Department of Health has identified 10 additional people with Zika virus in an area north of Miami who likely contracted it through a mosquito bite, raising the estimated number of locally transmitted cases to 14. Only two of the affected individuals are women. Six of the new cases were asymptomatic and identified by a community survey. CDC has sent an Emergency Response Team to help with the investigation and mosquito control efforts at the governor’s request, some of whom arrived last week. CDC advises pregnant women to avoid non-essential travel to the area, and issued recommendations for women of reproductive age and their partners who live in or traveled to the area after June 15. In other news, the Department of Health and Human Services today announced a $5.1 million contract to develop a faster blood test for Zika virus. For more on the Zika virus, visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html or http://www.aha.org/zika.