2 New Cases of Zika Virus Reported in Northern Virginia

• PHOTO: The Asian tiger mosquito is a day-biting, disease-spreading mosquito that lives in Virginia. CDC photo; second photo courtesy of Virginia Department of Health

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Virginia saw two new cases of the Zika virus reported this week, both of them in the Northern Virginia region, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

That brings the total number of cases reported in the Commonwealth to 20. The total number of cases in the territorial United States is at 618 as of Thursday and of those, 195 are pregnant women. Eleven of the cases were sexually transmitted; all others were contracted by someone being bitten by a mosquito carrying the Zika virus outside the United States. Check here for countries reporting Zika -- they include areas in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

There has been no local transmission of the virus from mosquitoes in the continental United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A baby was born Tuesday with microcephaly to a woman with the Zika virus in New Jersey. The woman traveled to the United States from the Honduras. CNN reported she was infected during her second trimester and her symptoms included a fever and rash. Earlier, a baby in Hawaii born with microcephaly was infected from the mother who likely contracted the Zika virus the year before in Brazil, CNN reported.

There are more than 300 pregnant women with the virus in the United States and its territories who are being followed as part of a national registry.

Zika virus infection is a viral disease primarily spread to people through bites of infected mosquitoes, but sexual transmission has also been documented. Mosquitoes become infected by feeding on infected persons. Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti (Yellow fever mosquito). Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) can also spread the virus.

Both mosquitos are found in Virginia. (See more information below about how to deal with these types of mosquitos.)

There is no vaccine to prevent Zika, so the best thing to do is avoid mosquito bites.

Preventing mosquito bites

CDC advises people to:

• Use EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin. You also can use some oil of lemon eucalyptus products and para-menthane-diol products on people 3 years or older. Apply insect repellent after applying sunscreen. Always follow label instructions.
• Treat clothing with permethrin (consult product label) or purchase permethrin-treated clothing. Never apply permethrin to skin.
• Wear light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when possible.
• Use air conditioning or window/door screens to keep mosquitoes outside, or sleep under a mosquito bed.
• Empty standing water from containers such as buckets, bowls, flower pots and vases.

Common symptoms include fever, rash, muscle and joint pain, red eyes caused by conjunctivitis (pink eye) and headache, which can last up to a week, according to the CDC. Contact your health care provider if you have these symptoms and have recently visited a Zika-affected area.

If you suspect you may be infected with Zika, contact your medical practitioner, especially if pregnant, the CDC advises. Even if you do not feel sick, take steps to prevent mosquito bites for three weeks by staying indoors or wearing protective clothing and insect repellent. This will help prevent mosquitoes from biting you and spreading the virus to others in the community Because Zika can be transmitted from infected men to their sexual partners, CDC has issued guidance for preventing sexual transmission after travel to a Zika-affected country.

How to control mosquitos

The two mosquito species (Asian Tiger and Yellow Fever) are different from most other mosquito species in Virginia because they fly and bite during daylight hours and will enter homes through any open door or window and bite indoors, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

These two species are also different from other species because they lay their eggs exclusively in containers of water (i.e. containers made of plastic, ceramic, glass, metal, concrete, wood or stone) and they do not lay their eggs in “ground” bodies of water such as puddles, flooded ditches, ponds or streams.

Control and prevention for these two mosquito species requires tactics that are different than what is normally used for other mosquito species. For example, the treating neighborhoods with truck-mounted foggers and larviciding puddles and stagnant water in ditches, swamps, or streams will not control either of these two mosquito species. Mosquito control and prevention requires:

• Thorough inspection of residential and commercial properties to find and eliminate, dump, or treat the containers of water that these mosquito species lay their eggs in. Effective treatment of a neighborhood often requires a property to property effort.
• Spraying of aerosol fogs into the foliage of shrubs, hedges, ivy and other vegetation or structures where these mosquitoes sit.
• Spraying of residual insecticide barriers on the foliage of shrubs, hedges, ivy, other low vegetation or walls on properties where these mosquitoes are abundant.
• Maintaining screens on all home/building windows and doors to prevent the entry of these mosquitoes into the home.