Now, the total number of people diagnosed with locally transmitted Zika virus has increased to 14.
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The new cases are clustered in the same square-mile neighborhood in Miami-Dade County identified as the source of 4 cases last week.
Federal health authorities issued a travel advisory Monday for a small area in Miami after the number of locally acquired Zika cases rose to 14.
And it’s unlikely that a mosquito carrying the Zika virus will be found in Kansas, said Charles Hunt, state epidemiologist for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The travel warning covers an area of about one square mile in Wynwood to the east of Interstate 95 and south of I-195.
Florida Governor Rick Scott announced Monday that he had requested an emergency response team from the CDC to assist with the state department of health’s efforts to tackle the outbreak.
Florida health officials initially tested individuals in three locations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but ruled out two of those locations.
Women and men who traveled to this area wait at least 8 weeks before trying for a pregnancy; men with symptoms of Zika wait at least 6 months before trying for a pregnancy.
However, CDC director Tom Frieden told USA Today, “We don’t have ideal ways to control the mosquitoes that control Zika”.
“The tragedy of a preventable case of a severe birth defect is something I think we have to make very clear to people”, Frieden said, adding, “It is truly a scary situation but it is not immediately apparent to people that it is this kind of significant risk”.
Alexander could not recall another virus that is spread through mosquitoes as well as sexually. In addition, the agency is suggests that all pregnant women in the United States should be assessed for possible Zika virus exposure during each prenatal care visit.
The CDC advises all pregnant women to avoid mosquito bites, through wearing long sleeves and insect repellent, especially if they live in an area with the main mosquito species that spreads Zika, the Aedes aegypti.
The mosquito-borne disease is associated with birth defects in newborns including microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.
Two of the infected people are women and 12 are men.
Until these cases, officials say all of the U.S. Zika cases were in people who had traveled to affected countries or territories or had sex with someone who had.
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That marks the first time that the virus has been contracted in the USA, rather than being contracted overseas and brought back.
