WICOMICO AND WORCESTER HEALTH DEPARTMENTS PARTNER TO HOST STATE ZIKA AWARENESS TOWN HALL

(Salisbury, MD)- As part of the State of Maryland’s ongoing Zika awareness campaign, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Dr. Howard Haft will visit the shore on August 1 to speak at a Zika Town Hall open to the public and held at the Tri-County Council building from 5 to 7 p.m. The Wicomico and Worcester County Health Departments are partnering to co-host the town hall, which will include background on Zika and tips on how to prevent transmission of the virus.

Zika is a disease caused by the Zika virus, spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Symptoms of Zika can include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. Though symptoms are usually mild, Zika has the potential to cause serious birth defects during pregnancy including miscrocephaly (abnormally small head development), and other severe fetal brain defects.

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 the Zika virus, mosquito prevention and the upcoming town hall, visit worcesterhealth.org or wicomicohealth.org or call 410.632.4321 in Worcester or 410.749.1244 in Wicomico. The Tri-County Council building is located at 917 Mount Hermon Road, Salisbury, MD 21804. You can register for the town hall by visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/zika-town-hall-meeting-tickets-25316507355.
The town hall is free to attend, but due to limited space, registration is required.