Zika cases climb to 147 in US and Puerto Rico

Abstract

News Zika cases climb to 147 in US and Puerto Rico BMJ 2016; 352 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i1212 (Published 29 February 2016) Cite this as: BMJ 2016;352:i1212 Article Related content Metrics Responses Michael McCarthy Author affiliations A total of 147 cases of Zika virus infection in the United States and Puerto Rico have been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as at 26 February. Of these, 107 occurred in 24 US states and 40 on the island of Puerto Rico.

In a teleconference briefing with reporters, the CDC’s director, Tom Frieden, said that all of the 107 cases reported within the US had been travel related but that most of the 40 cases reported in Puerto Rico had been acquired on the island through local transmission. “There is the potential for hundreds of thousands of Zika cases in Puerto Rico,” Frieden said.

On 26 February the CDC also reported on the cases of nine pregnant travelers who were infected with the Zika virus while traveling in areas where there is local transmission of the virus: American Samoa, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Samoa.