Florida has reported significantly fewer Zika infections this year, which may be the result of growing immunity to the virus, according to a HealthDay report.
Florida reported 1,122 cases of travel-related Zika infections and 285 locally acquired Zika cases in 2016. The numbers for 2017 are significantly lower with 108 cases of travel-related infections and just nine locally acquired infections. The nine local cases also carry a caveat — infected individuals tested positive for Zika in 2017, but exposure occurred in 2016, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Countries in South America and the Caribbean — the regions hardest hit by Zika last year — have also experienced a substantial decline in Zika cases this year, according to HealthDay. Previous research suggests those infected with Zika virus may cultivate an immunity that bars future infections.
"If a large enough proportion of the herd — be it cows or mice or people — are resistant to a disease, it's very difficult for the disease to spread," Uriel Kitron, PhD, chair of the department of environmental sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, told HealthDay. "We think a large proportion of the people have been infected, many of them without symptoms, and have lifelong immunity. There has been very little transmission since."
More articles on the Zika virus:
Zika linked to increase in life-threatening neurologic conditions among adults in Brazil
Florida identifies 1st case of sexually transmitted Zika for 2017
Texas sees 1st case of locally acquired Zika for 2017