The Florida Department of Health (DOH) held a meeting Monday in Doral to discuss ongoing, and recently-controversial, efforts to prepare and combat the Zika Virus.
Governor Rick Scott joined officials from county health departments, mosquito control districts from across the state and experts from the Centers for Disease Control, as they detailed the importance of local Zika mitigation efforts to make sure the stay ahead of a potential return of the virus.
“Community partners across the state have been tirelessly working together to help combat the spread of this disease and keep our state safe," Scott said, noting that with increased rainfall throughout the summer months, extra steps must be taken for aggressive combat. "We will continue to remain in contact with our federal and state partners and we remain fully committed to doing everything we can to protect our families and visitors.”
State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip also addressed the group, pointing out that the state has made major advancements in proper Zika treatment throughout the past year, including enhanced testing capabilities at laboratories within the state which can turn around testing results much faster compared to last year, when tests had to be sent to CDC labs in Colorado.
Recently, South Florida residents have complained about aerial spraying of the controversial pesticide Naled to combat mosquitoes. The chemical is banned in several countries because of its effect on the environment, but now the American Academy of Pediatrics says it may also be harmful to children but was key in helping eradicate the local transmission zones in Wynwood and Miami Beach and officials have said there have not been any documented incidents that can be traced back to the spraying.
"The chain of transmission did stop and we're hoping to keep it that way," said Dr. Lillian Rivera, the Florida Department of Health Administrator in Miami-Dade County. "But if it does come, we are prepared to serve and we now know a little bit more about the virus, that will help us."
Whereas last year saw doctors, epidemiologists, mosquito control technicians and government officials all scrambling to come up with a plan and protocols on the fly as Zika spread, the best thing those in charge of the fight have going for them this year is a head start in planning and a message that has continued to spread long after the virus had been contained.
Deputy Mayor Alina Hudak said Miami-Dade County is tripling the number of mosquito inspectors on staff and has already increased the budget allotment from the general fund earmarked for battling a return of Zika from just over one million dollars last year to $16 million for 2017. The county is working on a plan to use wolbachia mosquitoes to keep the Aedes Egyptae carrier from reproducing.
The Rio Olympics were another complicating for travel-related cases coming through Miami last year which will not be a problem this summer but Dr. Philip noted the number of Zika patients in many Latin American countries has already declined as well.