Puerto Rico Deems The Zika Epidemic Is Over

Bryan Michalek | June 8, 2017
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After almost a year, Puerto Rico has declared the Zika virus epidemic is now over. The news comes after the documented number of cases reportedly dropping since the outbreak began in 2016.

According to a statement from the Puerto Rico Health Department provided to Reuters, since April 2017, the number of Zika cases measured within a four-week period has dropped to 10, which is a dramatic decrease from last year’s numbers that reached more than 8,000 during the peak of the epidemic.

Although the epidemic title has been lifted, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not changed its stance on travel, advising pregnant women not to go to Puerto Rico.

The CDC claims its travel notice for the U.S. territory will remain in place because of expectations that the virus will continue to “circulate indefinitely” in many of the regions that it has been introduced.

The organization’s acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat said she is “pleased that the peak of the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico has come to a close.” However, she mentions, “We cannot let our guard down.”

Schuchat claims that the CDC will continue to work with the Puerto Rican Health Department to surveil the Zika virus, maintain the focus on protecting pregnant women, and continuing prevention efforts of the virus on the island.

The Zika epidemic began in 2015, after a major outbreak of the virus in Brazil and its rapid spread to dozens of countries. The risk for contracting the disease remains in Puerto Rico, and the CDC has also declared risks for Mexico, Cuba, a majority of the Caribbean and South America. Travel warnings also list parts of Africa and Southeastern Asia in a map released by the organization.

Puerto Rico seems committed to continuing the fight against the virus, but until there is a vaccine, it seems that this U.S. territory and all of the other places afflicted by Zika will continue to have travel warnings. This could be threatening to places that rely on tourism, and more specifically, Puerto Rico’s chances of statehood in the U.S.

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