The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) won applause from most of the Florida congressional delegation for its handling of the Zika virus.
U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., rounded up almost 20 other members of the Florida delegation to send a letter to Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC, praising its response to the virus. Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Curt Clawson, Ander Crenshaw, Carlos Curbelo, Ron DeSantis, Mario Diaz-Balart, David Jolly, John Mica, Jeff Miller, Bill Posey, Tom Rooney, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Dan Webster along with Florida Democrats U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, Patrick Murphy, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson.
“The new Zika virus that has rapidly spread from South America to my congressional district is not something to be taken lightly," Yoho said on Friday after the letter was sent. “The state of Florida is on the front lines of combating the spread of this new mosquito-borne illness and it is paramount that we use every tool in our arsenal to keep this virus from spreading further across the state.
“I commend the CDC for their response to Governor Scott’s request for more Zika virus antibody test kits,” Yoho added. “It is important that we continue to stay vigilant. Thank you to the members of the Florida delegation for standing with me in a bipartisan effort to protect all Floridians.”
As of Monday afternoon, when state Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong released his latest update, 28 people across the state have cases of the Zika virus. All of the cases are travel related. Eleven of those cases are in Miami Dade, four are in Broward County, Hillsborough and Lee counties have seen three cases apiece, two are in Orange County, while Alachua, Brevard, Osceola, Santa Rosa and St. Johns counties have all reported one case each.
In parts of South America, particularly Brazil, there are reports that mosquitos have transmitted the virus which has caused birth defects by biting pregnant women.
“Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites,” the CDC notes on its website. “The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome and pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
