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NYC Launches Mosquito Information Website In Battle Against Zika


zikaNew York City’s health department has launched a new, interactive mosquito information website as part of its three-year, $21 million effort to keep the Zika virus from spreading.

The new site includes information about mosquito surveillance and control activities across the city as well as recent mosquito control events by neighborhood.

“Every day, members of our mosquito control team are collecting surveillance traps, investigating complaints of standing water, and using our tools to reduce the mosquito population,” Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a statement.

The website includes interactive maps showing where the city is releasing pesticides. This week, residents in two dozen Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods can expect to see health department trucks spraying for the mosquitoes that are known to carry Zika.

“We’re gonna keep doing what we need to do and spending the money that we need to spend, but we’re expecting the federal government to be a partner,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week.

He urged Congress to return from its recess to authorize $1.9 billion in funding to fight the Zika virus on a national level.

“This is an international health crisis, the responsibility of the federal government,” he said. “Just like an international security threat would be the responsibility of the federal government.”

Zika primarily spreads through bites from mosquitoes, but can also be sexually transmitted. Most people won’t even know they have been infected by Zika because it often causes no symptoms at all or just mild symptoms.

In New York City, 483 people have been diagnosed with the illness, 49 of those patients are pregnant women. Health department officials say all of those cases are travel related and the numbers will likely climb.

“Even as our local mosquito season ends at the end of October, beginning of November, we still expect to see those numbers rise because of travel,” de Blasio said.

For those who do have symptoms, the most common include fever, rash, joint or muscle pain, conjunctivitis – also known as pink eye – and a headache. The symptoms usually last just a few days to a week.

The real issue is for pregnant women who are at greatest risk because the virus can cause devastating birth defects such as microcephaly, where the baby’s brain fails to develop normally.

Spraying in Brooklyn and Queens will begin at 10 p.m. Tuesday and will last through 6 a.m. Wednesday.

For more information to track spraying and get other Zika information, visit the new website at www.nyc.gov/health/mosquito.

As officials ramp up their efforts in New York City, concern is spreading in parts of Florida after the Miami Beach and Wynwood neighborhoods were designated Zika zones. The health department there is giving out free bug spray ahead of students returning to class Monday. Schools were also providing protective uniforms of long sleeves and pants.

The Centers for Disease Control is urging women who are pregnant, plan to get pregnant and their partners to postpone travel to the affected areas.

Experts predict the Zika virus could be around for another year to two years. Scientists at the National Institute of Health are already testing a vaccine.

(AP)



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