The First Locally Transmitted Case Of Zika To Occur In The USA Since The Start Of Summer Has Been Confirmed
The First Locally Transmitted Case Of Zika To Occur In The USA Since The Start Of Summer Has Been Confirmed
Everyone is grateful about the fact that the Zika virus is not infecting people at the rate that it did last year. Even some of the most Zika affected areas in the world, such as Brazil, have seen a sharp decrease in the amount of Zika infection cases during 2017. Now that summer is over, and signs of fall are becoming apparent, it seems certain that Zika is no longer the panic-inducing threat that it used to be. However, the Zika virus has not disappeared entirely, as several Americans have succumbed to the virus since the start of the 2017 summer season. All of the Zika cases reported by American citizens since the summer season began were acquired in foreign regions by American travelers, except for one, that is.
It is now October, and many people would have bet their lives that America would not see any locally transmitted cases of the Zika virus in America this year. However, an American couple who have just returned home from Cuba have both become infected with the virus. Apparently, one individual acquired the virus while in Cuba, but upon returning home, his/her partner became infected with Zika as well. News outlets will not release the names of the couple, nor will they release which gender had acquired the virus first, and which gender acquired the virus within the United States.
Once the couple returned to Florida from Cuba one of them began to experience flu-like symptoms. The individual noticed that his/her symptoms were consistent with the symptoms of the Zika virus, and it was later confirmed that the individual did contract the virus while in Cuba. The infected individual’s partner felt fine upon returning home, but at some point a mosquito bit the infected partner, which then bit the healthy partner. In a stroke of very bad luck this mosquito bite caused the healthy partner to contract the Zika virus. The mosquito had acquired the virus from the infected partner and then injected the virus into the healthy partner with its bite. This incident marks the first locally transmitted case of the Zika virus within the mainland United States since the summer season started a few months back.
Do you think that another locally transmitted case of the Zika virus will occur within the United States? Do you think the mosquito that infected the healthy partner in Florida could infect another individual?
