MONTICELLO – New York State’s health commissioner declared a public health emergency in March over concerns with the Zika virus. The declaration targeted the Hudson Valley counties.
Sullivan County’s Public Health Director Nancy McGraw said that
in the continental United States, the occurrence of Zika is “travel-related,”
meaning incidents involve people returning from Central and South American
countries where they have been infected. There are no “locally acquired”
cases, or instances of people infected directly by a mosquito bite.
New York State does have 77 travel-related cases reported so far.
McGraw said Zika does not appear to be a significant threat to Sullivan, in part because of geography.
“We’re really not that concerned, yet, and I don’t think we have as much to be concerned about as Long Island, certainly, because, number one, we have a cooler climate and we have a higher elevation,” McGraw said.
Still, state health officials want counties to take all precautions.
Beth Gilmore, a registered nurse, said the state Health Department has established a protocol for people who have traveled to source regions.
Gilmore said the first step is to determine whether the person has Zika, the symptoms of which mimic many other ailments, including the flu.
If Zika is suspected, several procedures could follow.
“If they’ve travelled to the Americas or Puerto Rico or to other countries outside of the United States, then automatically the Health Department is, according to the New York State Department of Health protocol, is notified and then we have a questionnaire that we need to review with that person,” Gilmore said.
The next step could be a blood test. The two facilities closed to Sullivan doing the test are in Binghamton and Poughkeepsie.
Sullivan County residents can get more information Zika on the Sullivan County website.
