Zika virus emergency declared in Santa Rosa County
By TOM McLAUGHLIN
Santa Rosa County, FL
The appearance of the Zika virus triggered declarations of public health emergencies Wednesday in four Florida counties, including Santa Rosa.
The four counties are those in which at least one resident has been diagnosed with the virus.
Nine cases have been identified across the state. One of those was in Santa Rosa County.
Dr. Michael Oleksyk, the vice president of medical affairs for Baptist Hospital, ruled out the Santa Rosa patient’s presence at Gulf Breeze Hospital. The only other hospital in Santa Rosa County is the Santa Rosa Medical Center in Milton.
A Medical Center spokesperson said she could neither confirm nor deny the presence of the Zika virus carrier.
Oleksyk said though, that there would be no real reason to keep a Zika virus patient under hospital care.
The virus symptoms mimic those of many other viral infections, Oleksyk said, including the common cold. They include fever, aching joints, red eyes and a possible rash.
The virus doesn’t cause significant distress or pose a risk of death to the carrier or those who come into casual contact with the carrier, Oleksyk said.
The danger the Zika virus poses, a significant one, is to children born to women with the disease.
“This is different from the Ebola outbreak when there were worries about deaths,” he said. “With Zika it’s more about what it does to fetuses.”
The Zika virus is contracted through mosquitoes and a recent case in Texas appears to have been sexually transmitted.
It is primarily found in tropical areas where mosquitoes are prevalent, and where the Catholic religion – which frowns on birth control and abortion -- is practiced, Oleksyk said.
The Zika virus has been linked to brain deformities in babies and public health officials worldwide have been alarmed by its spread.
Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order Wednesday directing state Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong to declare the public health emergencies for Santa Rosa, Miami-Dade, Lee and Hillsborough counties.
“Our Department of Health will continue to be in constant communication with all county health offices, hospitals and the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” Scott said. “We have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state.”
Oleksyk said health emergency protocols will require local officials to alert emergency room staff and urgent care centers to be on the look out for possible Zika virus patients.
Travel histories will be key in diagnosing the disease, though, he said, because the vast majority of American carriers contracted the virus after being bitten by a mosquito overseas, primarily Central and South America.
“I anticipate seeing a lot more of these cases with the amount of travel we do in this country,” Oleksyk said.
The key to preventing the spread of the virus will be awareness and education, Oleksyk said.
Those who contract the disease while pregnant will have to be made aware of the potential dangers and risk of birth defects, he said, and both men and women of child bearing age will need to be alerted to the potential risks of transmission through unprotected sex.