Houston identified as being at high risk for Zika virus

Report says Houston among areas at highest Zika transmission risk By Markian HawrylukMarch 16, 2016 Updated: March 16, 2016 3:30pm FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito behind the Zika virus seems to operate like a heat-driven missile of disease. Scientists say the hotter it gets, the better the mosquito that carries Zika virus is at transmitting a variety of dangerous illnesses. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) Photo: Felipe Dana, STF / AP Photo: Felipe Dana, STF IMAGE 1 OF 2 FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito behind the Zika virus seems to ... more Impoverished areas of southern Texas and cities in Southern Florida may be particularly vulnerable to local transmission of the Zika virus, according to a new analysis from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Scientists from the center examined where weather conditions were conducive to large populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes capable of carrying the Zika virus, where rates of travel from Zika-affected areas were high, and where socioeconomic conditions could facilitate its spread. Houston and other parts of Texas were among the areas at greatest risk. The team ran two computer simulations to judge the effect of meteorological conditions on the life cycle of the mosquito, from egg to adult, in 50 cities in or around its known range. Mosquitoes need relatively warm, stable temperatures for eggs to hatch. Once a mosquito bites an infected person, it takes a week or more, depending on ambient temperatures, for the virus to travel from the insect's gut to its salivary glands. Once it reaches the saliva, the virus can be transmitted from the mosquito to another person. RELATED Pathology group backs Houston hospitals in Zika test flap Jackson Lee seeks Zika funds for Houston, other tropical areas City health lab offers 1-day Zika tests The researchers said long-range forecasts for this summer indicate a 40 percent to 45 percent change of warmer-than-average temperatures over most of the continental United States. That could enable the mosquitoes to thrive through more of the South and East, but could also push temperature in the hottest parts of Texas, Arizona and California higher than optimal for mosquitoes. Conditions for the virus to be transmitted by mosquito, the researchers said, are most prevalent in July, August and September, although peak times vary by city. The study suggested that more parts of Harris County could be at risk for transmission if a related species, the Aedes albopictus, proves capable of spreading the virus. The peak time for mosquitoes coincides with peak travel time from Latin America and the Caribbean. The study estimated that five times as many people cross the U.S.-Mexico border per month than arrive by air. That could put border areas in Texas and California at higher risk. Those border areas also tend to have higher rates of poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, but the researchers noted that the Aedes aegypti mosquito populations tend to be higher in urban areas. PROGNOSIS El mosquito Culex porta el virus del Nilo y tiende a estar más activo durante el amanecer y el atardecer. Culex mosquitoes don't transmit Zika, finds UTMB study FILE - This Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, file photo, shows boxes of the measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine (MMR) and measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine inside a freezer at a doctor's office in Northridge, Calif. While much of the attention in the ongoing measles outbreak has focused on student vaccination requirements and exemptions, less attention has been paid to another group in the nation’s classrooms: Teachers and staff members, who by and large are not required to be vaccinated. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Vaccine exemptions more common in affluent Houston areas David's disorder left him no natural immunities against disease. He died in 1984.  New gene therapy for bubble-boy disease comes with guarantee Poor people are less likely to have air conditioning or intact window screens, increasing their risk for mosquito bites. "While there is much we still don't know about the dynamics of Zika virus transmission, understanding where the Aedes aegypti mosquito can survive in the U.S. and how its abundance fluctuates seasonally may help guide mosquito control efforts and public health preparedness," said Andrew Monaghan, a scientist with the center and lead author of the study.