Zika Awareness Week April 24th- 30th

Preventing infection from mosquito bites, human contact

Salisbury, MD (April 22, 2016) – In accordance with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s proclamation of April 24-30 as Maryland Zika Awareness Week, Wicomico County Health Department will raise awareness and provide residents with information to help minimize their risk for the mosquito-borne virus, as weather becomes warmer.

“Activities will be centered on helping our residents reduce opportunities around their homes for mosquitoes to breed,” said Wicomico County Health Officer Lori Brewster.

Zika Awareness Week is part of Maryland’s effort to raise awareness about the virus and about prevention. Throughout this week, local health departments around the state will be scheduling activities in their respective communities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated – because transmission has chiefly occurred through the bite of the aedes aegypti mosquito – that preventing mosquito bites is the best way to prevent infection.

The CDC also has confirmed that people who have traveled to countries where the virus is actively transmitted (the Caribbean, Central American and South American countries) should abstain from unprotected sexual activity, especially if their partner is a woman who is pregnant or who could become pregnant.

For more information on prevention steps, visit the CDC at http://goo.gl/mzPHVy.

As of today, Maryland has had nine confirmed cases of Zika virus infection. All have been related to travel from areas of ongoing transmission; none have involved local transmission.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene keeps a record of confirmed cases on its website: http://goo.gl/oAqPF6. For more information about the Zika virus, visit the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/ or www.wicomicohealth.org.