Queens Neighborhoods Sprayed With 'Duet,' Travel Warning Issued Amid Zika Concerns
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City officials on Monday issued a travel warning for a specific neighborhood in Miami Monday, after Florida Gov. Rick Scott said there are 10 new infections of the Zika virus likely transmitted by mosquitoes.
The infections were concentrated in the same square-mile neighborhood of Wynwood in Miami-Dade County, The Mayor's office announced Monday that the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has updated its current travel warning for Latin America and the Caribbean to include that Miami neighborhood.
"The fact that Zika is spreading locally in this Miami neighborhood means that pregnant women, women trying to conceive, and their sexual partners put themselves and their unborn child at risk of potential Zika infection when visiting this area," the Mayor's office advised.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued a new advisory that says pregnant women should not travel to the Miami Zika "transmission area."
The CDC also said pregnant women who live there should take steps to prevent mosquito bites and sexual spread of the virus.
Scott announced the new Zika infections Monday. They brought the total in the state to 14.
The Wynwood neighborhood of Miami identified last week as the Zika transmission site. Florida health officials say they believe active transmissions of Zika are occurring only in that area.
"All the additional cases are in that one small square-mile geographic area just north of downtown Miami," Scott said.
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As Joan Murray of WFOR-TV, CBS4 in Miami reported, Miami-Dade Mosquito Control was blasting block after block with mosquito killing chemicals Monday to control the spread of Zika.
"We have plenty of mosquitoes around here," said Alberto Carreras of Miami. "But I'm scared, because they say that Zika is here in Wynwood."
Workers were going door-to-door checking for mosquito activity and standing water. Mosquito control agent Larry Smart said he was not finding a lot of stagnant water.
"There hasn't been a lot of rain," he said, "so you won't find a lot of that going on right now."
But a resident said mosquitoes are commonplace in the Wynwood area.
"The mosquitoes are here because there's a lot of nature; a lot of trees, and grass, so there's a lot of places that you find are empty lots like that; there's nobody living here," the resident said.
Of the 14 Miami cases, two are women and 12 are men. Health officials have warned pregnant women to avoid the trendy arts district that is popular with tourists.
The CDC says men and women who have visited this area since June 15 should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive. Because Zika infection has been found to linger in sperm for months, men with Zika symptoms should wait at least six months before trying to have a baby with their partner.
Scott is calling on the CDC Emergency Response Team to help with collection efforts, lab work and mosquito control.
"We've done really well with Dengue fever and Chikungunya. We've been able to basically control the local transmission of those and so we believe all of us have to work together, but we can do the same thing with this," Scott said.
Meanwhile, Public Health England has advised mothers-to-be to postpone nonessential trips to the entire state of Florida.
Zika virus symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, pink eye, muscle pain, and headaches. But most of the time, those infected show no symptoms.
U.S. health officials do not expect widespread outbreaks of the sort seen in Brazil and Latin America. Although most people who get Zika don't know they're sick, infection during pregnancy can cause babies to be born with small heads and other defects.
New York City officials emphasized that Zika transmission has not been found in the city. Still, the city advised that New Yorkers remove standing outdoor water, use repellent when appropriate, and avoid mosquito-dense areas.
On Monday night, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene trucks started spraying the pesticide 'Duet' in Queens as part of the city's $21-million fight to keep Zika at bay.
In College Point, Dylan Piccininni has been wearing long pants and long sleeves as a precaution.
"If you don't you're going to get bit no matter what," she said.
College Point, Whitestone, and Flushing were being sprayed because they have a large number of Asian tiger mosquitoes even though none have tested positive for Zika.
"We don't want to wait until we find it in the mosquitoes, we want to take action now," said Dr. Jay Varma, Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control for the city's Health Department.
Dr. Varma said the health department sent notices to residents urging them to take precautions to avoid the pesticide, stay indoors during spraying, use air conditioners with closed vents, bring kids, toys, and laundry indoors, and wash skin and clothes with soap and water if you come in contact with insecticides.
"We use a very low volume of them. Even though they're not hazardous to human health, we always want to be cautious about anything we do in the environment," Dr. Varma said.
Right now, the trucks aren't scheduled for any other neighborhoods across the city, but that could change as they trap and count more mosquitoes throughout the summer.
More than 1,650 people in the mainland U.S. have been infected with Zika in recent months, nearly all while traveling abroad.
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