Despite isolated Zika cases, large-scale outbreak won’t plague US

Although Zika hysteria in the U.S. was rampant over the summer and the disease entered the country, new research suggests a large-scale outbreak in the U.S. remains unlikely.

From researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, the study, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, argues that because of access to clean water and air conditioning, Americans are less likely to be exposed to mosquitos, whether or not they are carrying Zika. The research asserts that small-scale, localized outbreaks in poor communities remain a threat because those areas often lack air conditioning, screened windows and household water storage.

"It seems clear that the main factors keeping outbreaks of these diseases from occurring today are socioeconomic, such as lifestyle, housing infrastructure and good sanitation,” the authors wrote in the study. “While such conditions are maintained, it seems unlikely that large scale local transmission will occur, especially in northern states.”

Risks for outbreaks are higher in southern states with longer warm seasons and common travel connections to countries where Zika and other diseases are already present, such as Mexico, South American countries and Puerto Rico.

"The growing interconnection of our global society makes global public health-related issues, such as sanitation and the lack of a continuous supply of running water in developing countries, an important concern to developed countries, as these developing countries may serve as a source of imported cases of disease," the authors wrote.

In December, state health officials said Zika was no longer spreading in Miami’s South Beach and that all of the state’s Zika zones have been cleared. But days after, the CDC issued guidelines for residents in Brownsville, Texas, where there were four Zika outbreaks.