Threatened by the mosquito-borne Zika virus in 2016, Florida residents felt more susceptible than others in the United States to getting the virus, were more knowledgeable about it, and were more likely to support taking community action against it.
Threatened by the mosquito-borne Zika virus in 2016, Florida residents felt more susceptible than others in the United States to getting the virus, were more knowledgeable about it, and were more likely to support taking community action against it.
Floridians were nearly twice as likely as non-Floridians to say they took steps to protect themselves from Zika. Whether or not they felt personally susceptible to getting the virus, Floridians reported acting in greater numbers than their non-Florida counterparts.
Even so, fewer than half of Floridians said they actually did take preventive measures.
A new study comparing the response to the Zika outbreak of adults in Florida with those living elsewhere in the United States suggests that greater community-level education may be needed to trigger a broader response to a public health threat such as Zika.
“People need to understand that by protecting themselves from the virus, they’re protecting everyone from the virus,” said lead author Kenneth M. Winneg, the managing director of survey research at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s not enough to have the people who are most at risk protecting themselves. You need the entire community involved.”
Read more at Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Image: A female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from her human host. (Credit: James Gathany/CDC)
