NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials have put together a plan to combat Zika that includes a special team of experts that can be dispatched to states if the virus spreads in the U.S.
Officials aren’t expecting big outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus like in Latin America and the Caribbean. But they do think some U.S. cases are likely as the mosquito season heats up.
If local infections occur, states will be able to call on expert teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help out, according to the plan issued Tuesday.
The plan also details steps for destroying mosquitoes and breeding sites around the area where an infected person was bitten. That should be done within about 150 yards of the property. It can be expanded to a larger area – perhaps a mile wide – if there’s a cluster of infections.
The response work should last for at least 45 days after the last reported illness.