Florida said the Little River neighborhood in Miami is no longer an active site of Zika transmission, while the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said there were decreasing cases in Mexico, and most parts of the Americas.
Little River cleared in time for Art Basel
Today the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that the state cleared the Little River area of Miami from ongoing Zika transmission.
"This great news comes as Miami is welcoming millions of visitors for Art Basel and shortly after we lifted the Zika zone in northern Miami Beach. It is crucial that everyone remains vigilant and continues to do their part to wear bug spray and dump standing water so we can keep these areas clear, especially for pregnant women and their developing babies," Scott said in a statement.
Given the new development, the CDC issued a statement today saying it updated its guidance for those living in or traveling to the Little River area, which has now been downgraded from a red-shaded Zika active transmission area on the agency's maps to a yellow-shaded cautionary area.
Scott also said that the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) now believes active transmissions of Zika is only occurring in the southern part of Miami Beach, and he encouraged local officials to use "every available resource to lift this final Zika zone."
According to Florida Health, there have been 244 locally acquired cases of Zika in Florida since local mosquitos began transmitting the disease in August.
Zika decreasing through most of Americas
PAHO said yesterday in an epidemiological update that Mexico was showing a slight decrease in the number of Zika cases reported, a trend that echoes throughout most of the Americas.
Since the last PAHO Zika update on Nov 17, no new countries have been reported Zika. Mexico has reported decreasing counts for the last month, and in Florida there have been no new locally acquired cases in north Miami-Dade County for 45 days. However, the state continues to report a small but steady stream of cases for other parts of Miami-Dade County, with investigators still working to determine where several of the patients were exposed.
All countries in Central America, except Panama, have reported decreasing trends. And only Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy in the Caribbean and Peru in South America have reported an increased number of cases.
Inovio gets $6.1 million for Zika treatment
Finally today, the biopharmaceutical company Inovio received a $6.1 million dollar award through the Wistar Institute to develop a DNA-based monoclonal antibody fast-acting treatment for Zika infection.
Unlike vaccines, monoclonal antibodies can immediately prevent illness after exposure to a virus, but do not provide long-term immunity.
According to Inovio, Zika dMAb has the potential to halt the effects of the current outbreak before a DNA-based vaccine is developed. Inovio is currently developing and testing two DNA-based vaccines, including one in Puerto Rico, where experts estimate that up to 25% of the population has been exposed to Zika virus.
See also:
Dec 2 Gov. Scott statement
Dec 2 Florida Health update
Dec 2 CDC statement
Dec 1 PAHO update
Dec 2 Inovio press release
