Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Last week was rough for Miami<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>14 cases of Zika infections were confirmed in Wynwood, a neighborhood known for its hip cafes and public art that is popular among tourists and locals alike.
In<span style="color: Red;">*</span>response to the outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to birth defects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<span style="color: Red;">*</span>advises pregnant women stay away from the neighborhood. The CDC also recommends women<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who visited as recently as June 15 <span style="color: Red;">*</span>avoid<span style="color: Red;">*</span>getting pregnant for at least eight weeks.
The warning is somewhat<span style="color: Red;">*</span>unique: CDC officials believe<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it’s the first time that the agency has discouraged travel to a community within the continental U.S. Colleges and universities in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Miami area are not taking the outbreak<span style="color: Red;">*</span>lightly, either.
Higher-education institutions in the area<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(there are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>59 in total) include two of the state’s largest public universities: Miami Dade College and Florida International University. According to the most recently published statistics, their student bodies are 92,085 and 54,000, respectively. Another important player in the area is the University of Miami, which has a a student population of almost 17,000.
These schools are actively working to decrease the Zika risk-level for their students.
“The Miami Dade College administration is taking the Zika issue very seriously,” says Juan Mendieta, director of communications at MDC. “For some time before the confirmation of the locally-acquired cases, Miami Dade College facilities teams had already been following the Health Department and the CDC’s drain-and-cover protocols to mitigate the breeding of mosquitoes in standing water. We have also been testing several lakes and ponds at our campuses for mosquito larvae levels.”
Officials at Barry University in Miami Shores are similarly vigilant. Their school is less than seven miles away from Wynwood.
As we cont. to hear about Zika in So Fl: safety of our students, faculty & staff is our #1 priority. Visit for info: https://t.co/wOsaSUfUkv“We take this matter very seriously and are following every necessary precaution and protocols to ensure that the Zika virus has a limited impact on the Barry University community. For the safety of our students, faculty and staff, we choose to err on the side of caution as it relates to our response to the Zika virus,” says Dr. Scott Smith, Vice President for Student Affairs.
— Barry University (@BarryUniversity) August 4, 2016
Although the Barry University area has been sprayed by Miami-Dade County twice this month, the school is also conducting its own extermination efforts.
“The campus has been sprayed by our in-house extermination company multiple times throughout the summer months, and this practice will continue as needed until this issue has been resolved. Barry University Public Safety administrators, officers and the Facilities Department are working together to identify and quickly remove any standing water that is reported,” says Scott.
An Aedes Aegypti mosquito is photographed in a laboratory of control of epidemiological vectors in San Salvador, on January 27, 2016. Health authorities have issued a national alert against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, vector of the Zika virus which might cause microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.(Photo:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Marvin Recinos, AFP/Getty Images)
Keeping students and faculty informed every step of the way is also a priority.
“As a proactive measure, Barry University is continuously updating our students, faculty and staff via messaging on our health services website, homepage of Barry.edu, student web, internal news bulletins, email blasts and social media,” adds Scott.
Local students, though, don’t seem<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fazed by the Zika news.
“Honestly I am not worried about the Miami Zika,” says Donna Rifai, a rising senior at the Florida International University. “And I don’t think I’ll avoid Wynnwood. Of course, I will now . . . but not for long. I do think there is too much fuss being made over Zika.”
Crystal Lam, a rising senior at the University of Miami, also doesn’t see the virus as a huge threat.
“Personally, I’m not too worried about the Zika outbreak because it seems to be generally asymptomatic, and since the most severe result of the virus is birth defects, that doesn’t affect me,” she says.
Lam, who lives<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about 30 minutes north of Miami in Hollywood, Fla., says she still plans to take precautions when she moves back to campus.
“I actually tend to get bit by mosquitoes when I move into UM for the fall semester, so this year I think the I’ll be wearing long pants and longer sleeves during move-in.”
Lam feels her university is reacting appropriately to the Zika threat.
“I remember UM had some kind of forum about Zika back in March, and we’ve been receiving update emails about once a month. The most recent one was probably within the past week, and it described the symptoms and ways in which the disease could be transmitted,” she says.
UM also sent out a special Zika advisory last week (also published on its website). In it, the university recommends the members of its community to personally take such steps as reporting standing water (where mosquitoes can lay eggs) and leaving windows closed.
The city, meanwhile, launched<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an insecticide attack against the mosquitoes Thursday.
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