Emergency Preparedness

This week, the Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed four additional case of Zika virus. As in all of the other cases in Louisiana, the patients travelled to regions in the Americas with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in Louisiana after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection.

The Louisiana Department of Health today announced it has received a federal grant of more than $19.5 million to assist local communities throughout Louisiana that are still recovering from the devastating floods this past spring. This Disaster Case Management grant is from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and is administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery Unit.

This brings the total to 19 cases of travel-associated Zika confirmed in Louisiana. Although the state of Florida has reported several locally transmitted cases in that state, this is not the situation in Louisiana. Local transmission occurs when an infected mosquito in the area bites another person in the area and transmits the virus. This local transmission is much more likely in the parishes around Lake Pontchartrain than other areas of the state.

On June 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is now allowing states to pay for mosquito repellent for Medicaid enrollees as a Zika virus prevention measure.

Today, the Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed one additional case of Zika virus. As in all of the other cases in Louisiana, this patient travelled to a region with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in Louisiana after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection.

Over the past week, the Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed five additional cases of Zika virus. Each patient had travelled to a region with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in Louisiana after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection. This brings the total to 14 cases of travel-associated Zika confirmed in Louisiana. There have been no confirmed cases of local transmission within Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Health has received confirmation of one additional case of Zika virus. The patient had travelled to a region with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in Louisiana after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection.

The Louisiana Department of Health has received confirmation of one additional case of Zika virus from another state laboratory. The patient had travelled to a region with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in another state after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection.

The Louisiana Department of Health has received confirmation of one additional case of Zika virus from another state laboratory. The patient had travelled to a region with ongoing Zika transmission and sought medical care in another state after returning, where tests confirmed the viral infection.

This is the eighth case of travel-associated Zika confirmed in a Louisiana resident. There have been no confirmed cases of local transmission within Louisiana or in the rest of the 50 states.