Officials in Texas say a baby whose mother traveled to El Salvador while pregnant has died shortly after birth, in a case attributed to the Zika virus.
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In a statement, Scott said the newest cases are all from a small area of the Wynwood neighborhood, less than 1 square mile.
To date, there have been almost 400 cases of Zika confirmed in Florida.
The Wynwood neighborhood is just north of downtown Miami and is a popular restaurant and entertainment district.
The victim is a female Marathon resident who recently returned from a Caribbean trip, officials with the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County said. Public health officials there have documented at least 17 cases of locally acquired Zika infections, with almost all occurring in the Wynwood community just north of downtown Miami.
According to a report from USA Today, the CDC says 15 babies in the US have been born with Zika-related birth defects. The good news is that the attention Zika has brought may prompt pharmaceutical companies to create medicines and vaccines that will not only help curb the transmission of Zika, but also slow the spread of other illnesses.
It’s an issue that could affect votes in this crucial swing state where she has held a small advantage in recent polls. Some 50 Republican former national security officials signed an open letter calling Trump the most reckless candidate in history, prompting a counterattack from Trump, who said the signers share blame with Clinton for making the world “a mess” and aiding the Islamic State group’s formation.
The Democratic presidential nominee will be urging the action as she tours the Borinquen Medical Center, a health clinic close to the Wynwood area where 16 non-travel related cases of Zika have been diagnosed.
The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where active Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that this virus can cause a wide range of other abnormalities including visual and hearing defects and brain damage in babies with normal sized heads”, he said. If contracted by pregnant women, the virus can lead to a rare and devastating birth defect called microcephaly. The first was reported on Jul 13 and also involved an infant born in Harris County to a mother who was likely infected in Latin America.
State officials say there have been no confirmed cases of mosquito-to-human transmission of the virus in Texas.
Florida is the only US state where people have has been infected locally by a mosquito bite.
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Zika was first detected in Brazil a year ago and has spread rapidly in the Americas. “The doctors did the right thing and began testing”, said Dr. Shah. those tests confirmed Zika virus.
