In response to a follow-up question from The Associated Press, Florida Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said officials believe the cases were transmitted by mosquitoes.
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According to Florida Governor Rick Scott, the affected area is about 1.5 square miles, “running from the beach to the Intracoastal Waterway and from Eighth Street to 28th Street”.
Pregnant women have been warned to avoid the worldwide tourist destination Miami Beach, amid cases of the Zika virus.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the Health Department spokeswoman, not the governor, said officials believe mosquitoes transmitted the Zika. This is the second area, after north of downtown Miami, to be identified as having mosquitoes having Zika virus.
CDC officials did not immediately respond Friday to questions about whether their travel advisory, the agency’s first for pregnant women within the continental US, would be expanded.
“If we don’t protect ourselves, and we are infected with Zika virus, and a mosquito bites us, that can potentially increase the spread to the next person”, said Dr. Sujatha Ramamurthy, owner of Doctors2You in Fort Myers.
The new warnings come from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and represent a challenge to Florida’s tourism.
Elsewhere, Texas health officials on Monday reported what appears to be the first case of Zika infection traveling across state lines.
Additional infections outside Wynwood and Miami Beach also are being investigated.
Miami-Dade County continues its targeted, on-ground spraying efforts using EPA, CDC and Department of Agriculture approved pesticides.
The new warnings represent a challenge to Florida’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry, with Miami Beach accounting for almost half of visitor stays in the Greater Miami area.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quickly issued a new travel advisory, telling pregnant women to avoid the designated area of Miami Beach, in addition to Wynwood. It is known to cause severe birth defects in infants, including microcephaly, which leads to abnormally small heads and under-developed brains.
“Florida is following the CDC recommendation for defining a risk area”, he said. Thus far, no indigenous cases have been reported here.
MIAMI (AP) – The discovery of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in South Florida certainly isn’t ideal for tourism, but local officials and business leaders are confident the long-term impact on the tourism industry will be minor.
They also heighten concerns over Zika’s spread in the continental United States.
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Scott nevertheless said aggressive mosquito control efforts had cleared a total of 17 blocks of the Wynwood area, based on tests administered to residents.
