Zika: Doctor Talks Transmission, Campaign; Disease Managed Through Modified Vectors?

In line with Zika, more details on transmission and campaign have surfaced. Also, the development of modified mosquitoes is being eyed as management of the disease.

In his interview with Fox News senior managing health editor Dr. Manny Alvarez, March of Dimes medical director Dr. Edward McCabe spoke his thoughts on the organization's latest campaign, which they called #ZapZika, to raise public awareness about the the disease.

In a statement, McCabe said that #ZapZika was a social messaging campaign and it aimed to let people know some simple things they could do to protect themselves and their family from the Zika virus. A case in point is the usage of spray to fend off the mosquitoes, ensuring that the spray was Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered.

For McCabe, education was the key for people to be able to protect themselves from the Zika virus.

While it is known that the Zika virus can be transmitted through mosquito bite and sexual intercourse, McCabe believes that the disease has other modes of transmission. In the same interview, he said that they were concerned about blood transfusion and solid organ tissues, such as liver and kidney transplants, if the person had been infected. Thus, Zika can also be passed through blood.

In other news, a biotechnology company is gearing on the development of genetically modified mosquitoes as answer to Zika. On Aug. 5, Germantown British subsidiary Oxitec got a go signal from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release the genetically modified mosquitoes under the investigational field trial conducted in Key Haven, Florida Keys, CNBC has learned.

As per the publication, Key Haven's residents are set to vote on the trial in a referendum in November and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board set to release the final approval. Though Oxitec got its green light, risks to the human population is still a concern.

Know more about Zika here.