Florida officials have confirmed more locally transmitted Zika, and Argentina and Guadeloupe have reported their first congenital microcephaly cases.
Ongoing spread in Miami Beach, Little River
The Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) reported six new cases of locally acquired Zika yesterday and today.
Yesterday the Florida Health reported three new locally acquired cases of Zika, and one new case in a non-Florida resident who had recently traveled to Miami. Two of the local cases occurred in Miami-Dade County residents, and the other involves a Broward County resident.
Though investigations are still under way to determine where the four cases were acquired, Florida Health says that Miami Beach and Little River, two neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County, are still the only places in the state where active transmission is taking place.
Today Florida Health confirmed two locally acquired cases, both involving Miami-Dade County residents. Officials are investigating where exposure occurred.
There are now 230 locally acquired Zika cases in Florida, and 14 undetermined cases. There are 159 pregnant women in the state with Zika, but it is unknown how many contracted the disease through travel, sexual partners, or local transmission.
WHO and CDC updates
In its weekly Zika situation report, meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said two new countries, Argentina and Guadeloupe, have reported their first microcephaly case linked to Zika. No new countries reported Zika transmission or Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) cases linked to the misquote-borne virus.
According to the WHO, Brazil has 2,106 cases of Zika-linked microcephaly, by far the most in the world. Colombia has the next most, with 57 cases, and the United States has 31.
Tomorrow the WHO will be holding the fifth meeting of the Emergency Committee on Zika virus, microcephaly, and other neurologic disorders. The committee will review earlier recommendations and determine if Zika-related complications still warrant a public health emergency of international concern.
And in its weekly update on Zika today, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there were no new babies born in the country with microcephaly, leaving that number at 26. The number of pregnancy losses related to the virus remained at 5.
Also, the CDC said 30 more Zika infections in pregnant US travelers have been reported, lifting that number to 1,087. In US territories (mostly Puerto Rico), the number of pregnant women infected is 2,451, which is 94 more than last week.
The number of Zika illnesses in US travelers grew by 80 to 4,115. For the second week, infections in US territories rose by almost 1,000 new cases, to 31,951. Florida has the most cases, with 708.
There are still 35 sexually transmitted cases of Zika in the United States and 13 cases of GBS. The territories reported 4 more GBS cases, raising that total to 50.
Finally, the CDC added another country to its growing list of places that pregnant women should avoid because of Zika transmission. Palau, the small island nation in the Micronesia region, is now reporting active transmission of Zika virus.
See also:
Nov 16 Florida Health update
Nov 17 Florida Health update
Nov 17 WHO situation report
Nov 17 CDC update
Nov 16 CDC travel alert
