![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Zika-door-hanger-e1458932390525.jpg\" "\\"Zika")
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A small group of animal rights activist believe a Zika outbreak in Hendry County is imminent and they are letting neighbors know by posting fliers in Lehigh Acres.<\/p>\n
The fliers read \u201cThe Zika threat on our doorstep\u201d and pin the possibility of a local outbreak on nearby monkey-breeding facilities.<\/p>\n
According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, monkeys are natural hosts to the Zika virus, poising Hendry County and its so-called monkey farms to become \u201cground zero\u201d to a domestic Zika virus outbreak.<\/p>\n
So the monkey facilities must be shut down, said animal rights activist Dr. Madeleine Doran.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow these monkey facilities are a threat to more than just the monkeys that are imprisoned there. It\u2019s a threat to our population,\u201d Doran said.<\/p>\n
Despite the flier\u2019s claims, monkeys are not likely to spread Zika, though the Florida Department of Health says some monkeys do carry the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cNon-human primates are not likely to be involved in the virus transmission in the United States, but some monkeys do carry the virus. To date, no local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported in United States, including Florida,\u201d from a statement from the Florida Department of Health.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization has declared Zika an international health crisis. The virus has been linked to serious birth defects to babies born to infected mothers. In Brazil, an estimated 1.5 million people are infected with the mosquito-borne illness.<\/p>\n
But Florida residents have solely contracted the disease during international travel. Doran said she does not feel like her group is inciting fear unnecessarily. But wants to get the message out, Given the risk to pregnant mothers and their unborn children, I don\u2019t think that we are alarmists, Doran said.<\/p>\n
People should still take precautions to protect themselves, health officials said. Wearing mosquito repellent and draining day-old water are helpful techniques.<\/p>\n
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