Health officials are urging pregnant women to avoid a Miami neighborhood where mosquitoes are apparently infecting people with the Zika virus. The number of local transmissions of the virus has apparently increased to 14, Gov. Rick Scott said Monday.
While infection with the Zika virus is harmless to most people, it can cause terrible birth defects – particularly microcephaly, which results in babies born with small heads and underdeveloped brains.
In response to the news out of Miami, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday it was sending an eight-person team to assist local officials.
On Tuesday, the CDC said it had awarded more than $16 million to 40 states and territories to create “information-gathering systems” to quickly detect microcephaly. This money is a “stopgap diverted from other public health resources until Zika funds are provided by Congress,” the agency said in a news release.
President Barack Obama has asked Congress to allocate $1.9 billion to combat the Zika threat, but federal lawmakers have yet to act on the request.
The CDC has said repeatedly that it expects to see cases of local transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus this summer in warm, humid southern states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The virus is typically transmitted through the bite of Aedes mosquitoes.
But U.S. officials said they don’t expect to see a Zika epidemic in the United States similar to those in Latin America. The reason: better insect control as well as window screens and air conditioning that should help curtail any outbreaks.
Showing posts with label Zika virus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zika virus. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
Doctors Issue Call to Combat Climate Change
Climate change is already harming people’s health by promoting illnesses linked to warmer temperatures and changing weather patterns, a leading group of U.S. doctors says in a new position paper.
As a result, the American College of Physicians (ACP) is calling for “aggressive, concerted” action to fight climate change by curbing man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Respiratory illnesses, heat stroke and infectious diseases like Zika virus, dengue fever and cholera are flourishing as global temperatures rise, said Dr. Wayne Riley, president of the college.
“Our climate is already changing and people are already being harmed. If we don’t begin to address climate change, we’re going to see more and more manifestations of these health problems,” Riley said.
“There is clear, compelling scientific consensus that climate change is real,” he added. “There is no dispute.”
In the paper, published online April 19 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP outlines the health problems that it says climate change is already creating:
Respiratory illnesses, including asthma and COPD. Rising temperatures are causing an increase in ozone pollution, smoke from wildfires, and allergens produced by weeds, grasses and trees. Homes affected by heavy rains or flooding can become host to toxic mold and fungi.
Heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which are particularly dangerous for children and the elderly
Insect-borne illnesses, like Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, which are ranging father north as mosquitoes thrive in warmer climates.
As a result, the American College of Physicians (ACP) is calling for “aggressive, concerted” action to fight climate change by curbing man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Respiratory illnesses, heat stroke and infectious diseases like Zika virus, dengue fever and cholera are flourishing as global temperatures rise, said Dr. Wayne Riley, president of the college.
“Our climate is already changing and people are already being harmed. If we don’t begin to address climate change, we’re going to see more and more manifestations of these health problems,” Riley said.
“There is clear, compelling scientific consensus that climate change is real,” he added. “There is no dispute.”
In the paper, published online April 19 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP outlines the health problems that it says climate change is already creating:
Respiratory illnesses, including asthma and COPD. Rising temperatures are causing an increase in ozone pollution, smoke from wildfires, and allergens produced by weeds, grasses and trees. Homes affected by heavy rains or flooding can become host to toxic mold and fungi.
Heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which are particularly dangerous for children and the elderly
Insect-borne illnesses, like Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, which are ranging father north as mosquitoes thrive in warmer climates.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)