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New York unveils 21-mln-dollar plan to address threat of Zika

Xinhua, April 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio on Monday announced a three-year, 21-million-dollar plan to address the threat of Zika outbreak in the city.

The plan includes reducing the number of mosquitos in New York City by doubling and optimizing existing mosquito traps, improving the city's testing capacity for the disease, and creating an awareness campaign for people to understand the virus and take appropriate precautions.

"We take the threat of Zika virus very seriously," said de Blasio at a press conference held at New York Public Health Laboratory.

Currently 358 patients were confirmed to have contracted the disease in the United States, 40 of who have been reported in New York City.

However, none of the 40 cases were infected locally, de Blasio noted.

The specific species of mosquito that transmits the disease has not been found in the city, the mayor said, but there's a similar species that could potentially spread the virus.

At the press conference, Dr. Herminia Palacio, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said the City has extensive experience in its 20 years of controlling mosquito population that carries the West Nile virus.

Although the mosquito species that carries West Nile virus differs from the Aedes mosquitos that transmits the Zika virus, existing traps will be optimized to better exterminate both mosquito species.

"This mosquito season the city will be monitoring and trapping mosquitos more than ever before," said Dr. Mary Bassett, Health Commissioner of New York City.

The plan will also add 51 new positions to address the needs of the city, including inspectors, exterminators, disease inspectors, and lab analysts.

As part of the plan, the city launched an awareness campaign dubbed "Fight Back NYC", calling on New Yorkers who are potentially infected with the virus to get tested.

The city also urged New Yorkers to remove open containers of standing water and pregnant women to use a condom while having sex with a man who spent time in a Zika-affected area. Enditem