Zika Outbreak News:First Baby With Zika-Related Defect Born In Florida

The first baby born with the birth defect microcephaly, which is caused by the Zika virus was born in Florida. The baby was born from a Haitian woman who got infected with Zika in Haiti and traveled to Florida to give birth to her baby.

Microcephaly causes small heads and developmental problems in babies. Reuters reported that this would be the fifth baby born in the United States with a birth defect connected to travel to a country affected by the Zika virus if confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Budget Sought To Combat Zika Virus

Florida Gov. Rick Scott had issued an executive order last week to spend up to $26.2 million of the state's fund to address the threats from the Zika virus. On the national level, however, the United States Senate a bill to fund fighting the Zika virus was thumbed down.

"Now that a baby has been born in our state with adverse impacts from Zika, it is clear that every available resource is needed to prevent local transmissions in our state," Scott said, as per a report from the Miami Herald. Scott has reportedly asked the CDC to hold a dialogue with Florida's health workers on safety measures against the Zika virus for both pregnant women and new mothers.

Keeping The Zika Virus Away

Florida's local mosquito control experts have recommended removing standing water to protect their families from the Zika virus, the Sun Sentinel reported. The mosquitoes who are carriers of the Zika virus are said to breed only in small pools of standing water.

"Emptying water from the breeding source is the most important thing," Rob Robbins, director of Palm Beach County's Department of Environmental Resources Management was quoted as saying. Rain gutters are also said to be one place that is often overlooked as breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.

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