The new transmissions come as Miami-Dade continues to battle Zika in the Wynwood arts neighborhood of Miami, the site of the first locally transmitted cases of Zika in the continental United States.
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Among them: the volume of tourist turnover, the density of people present in the area, and the fact that most are there to visit the beach in bathing suits that expose a lot of skin.
Aerial spraying isn’t practical over South Beach because of the height of its buildings and strong winds over the narrow island city, Frieden said.
Frieden also says the large numbers of residents and visitors in the area will make it challenging to control the spread of Zika there. It is anticipated that some sort of announcement by Florida health officials will be made Friday afternoon.
While the formal travel advisory for pregnant women is limited to two active transmission zones, pregnant women and their partners “may also consider postponing non-essential travel to all parts of Miami-Dade County”, CDC chief Tom Frieden told reporters. Also, to continue protecting pregnant women, I am renewing my call to the Obama Administration for an additional 10,000 Zika prevention kits.
Florida health officials note that “one case does not mean active transmission is taking place”.
“There is no risk that Albertans who are in the province will get Zika virus from a mosquito because the mosquitos that transmit Zika virus do not live in Canada due to the climate”, said Carolyn Ziegler from Alberta Health.
In Miami Beach, the state believes Zika transmission is confined to a 1.5-square-mile area located between 8th and 28th streets in the popular South Beach neighborhood, a popular tourist destination.
Another infection zone was previously identified in Miami’s Wynwood arts district.
Two patients are Miami-Dade County residents, and three are tourists, including one man and two women, Scott said.
More than two dozen people are believed to have been infected since then by mosquitoes carrying the virus in Wynwood. The email was first reported by The Miami Herald.
Five cases of Zika have been connected to mosquitoes in Miami Beach, bringing the state’s caseload to 36 infections not related to travel outside the U.S., Florida’s governor and health department announced Friday.
Reporters at the press conference charged Scott with underplaying Zika transmission and delaying confirmation to minimize the effect on tourism in the state.
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Pregnant women and those who want to become pregnant are urged to stay away from two areas – a 1.5 square mile (3.9 square kilometer) section of Miami Beach and a neighborhood north of downtown called Wynwood – where mosquitoes are actively spreading the disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
