- April 28, 2024
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(Photo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Two travel-related Zika cases were reported in Flagler County Sept. 15, according to the website of the Florida Department of Health.
The two people infected had recently traveled to Nicaragua, and Florida Department of Health staff believe they contracted the disease there, Health Department spokeswoman Sarah Revell said. The Health Department would not say whether the two infected people were male or female, how old they were, or which city they live in.
"It is very important for residents to know these two cases are travel-related, meaning the patients did not contract Zika locally and that they contracted the virus overseas," Revell wrote in an email to the Palm Coast Observer. "Since these are Flagler’s first cases of Zika, the county has been added to the Declaration of Public Health Emergency.”
Revell said the Health Department works with local mosquito control districts to follow up after it discovers Zika cases in Florida. The department advises Zika patients to avoid mosquito bites while they’re symptomatic.
There are eight cases in Volusia County, four in St. Johns County and none in Putnam County, according to the Florida Department of Health website. Miami-Dade has by far the most cases, with 213, and Broward County is second, with 109.
For most of the people who are symptomatic — and only one in five infected people are — Zika is a “mild illness” that resolves itself a week, according to the Department of Health website. Its danger lies in its connection to the condition of microcephaly in newborns born to infected mothers.
According to the Health Department: “Signs and symptoms of Zika fever may include: acute onset of low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (reddening of eye), body aches, headache, eye pain, and vomiting. Treatment is symptomatic since there is no specific treatment against the virus. Illness typically resolves within a week. … The Ministry of Health of Brazil has reported an increase in the numbers of newborns with microcephaly in areas experiencing Zika virus outbreaks.”
There are 86 Zika cases in Florida involving pregnant women, and 650 cases not involving pregnant women, according to the Florida Department of Health. Zika is spread through mosquito bites and through sexual contact.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
