Miami-Dade County and Broward County were the most likely areas to have the first local transmission of the Zika Virus in the continental U.S. The next most likely area is Orlando, Florida, according to the Zika Risk Map. The four people in Florida are believed to be first to contract the virus from mosquitoes within the 50 states.
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The CDC and Florida officials said that for now, the area of concern is limited to a square mile (2.6 sq km) in the Wynwood neighbourhood of Miami, a gentrifying area with restaurants and art galleries just north of downtown. For these “high risk” regions, Public Health England advises firmly: “Pregnant women should postpone non-essential travel”.
“This means Florida has become the first state in the nation to have local transmission of the Zika virus”, Scott said.
USA health officials said they do not expect widespread outbreaks in this country of the sort seen in Brazil, and other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, in part because of better sanitation, better mosquito control and wider use of window screens and air conditioners.
The state officials and the CDC said that now the area where the Zika the cases have been detected is just limited to the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.
Florida’s burgeoning tourist economy is sensitive to whatever could discourage people from coming to the state. The Guardian reports that 53 cases of the Zika virus have now been confirmed in the United Kingdom, all transmitted overseas before the victim returned home.
Do you think Zika virus will affect Florida tourism or will people continue to travel to the state and while avoiding Miami?
The study found that Florida cities have the heaviest amount of travelers arriving from countries where the Zika virus has become pandemic in combination with the longest mosquito season in the United States. There are now more than 1,600 confirmed Zika cases in the continental US.
She explained the Zika virus, “is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, and possibly the Aedes albopictus mosquito, both of which are included on the situation report, indicating their prevalence within areas where mosquito traps are set”.
“We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite”, Governor Scott said.
Florida yet to invite dedicated team to probe outbreak of virus which appears to pose greatest risk to pregnant women.
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Zika-fighting efforts include pesticide spraying, setting of traps and eliminating standing water around homes. “You can’t not go outside”.
