As of Wednesday, there were 15 locally transmitted cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with the majority of the cases stemming from mosquito bites in the Wynwood area, health department officials said.
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Forty-one US service members, including one who is pregnant, have contracted the Zika virus overseas, the Pentagon says.
“Right now we have the every bit concern of the Zika virus in our mosquitoes”, said Anh Ton.
The babies were born to women who had Zika virus infections during pregnancy, after spending time in a country where the virus is endemic, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Zika can also spread through sexual contact with an infected person.
Pregnant women have been advised not to travel to those areas because of the risk of microcephaly in infants.
The Zika virus has been linked to birth defects including microcephaly.
About 80 percent of folks who are infected won’t show symptoms, and for those who do have symptoms, they are often mild, so it’s important not to dismiss them. Zika infections in pregnant women can cause severe brain-related birth defects.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We can assure the public that Zika does not pose a public health risk in Scotland, and of the cases identified in the United Kingdom a very small number have been found in Scotland”.
The Zika outbreak began in early 2015 in Brazil, and has since spread to areas of South and North America.
Now the state will offer free testing for pregnant women. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped accepting blood donations from the Miami-area in late July until donors are screened for the virus.
As state and federal disease prevention officials work in South Florida, Scott and Putnam said residents can do little things to help keep the virus from spreading.
Michelle Anderson and her husband are planning to start a family in the next couple of years, and she’s already talking to her doctor about the threat of Zika.
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“As I have said before, Florida has a proven track record of success when it comes to managing similar mosquito-borne viruses”.
