Fisher said he wants to assure the community that healthcare providers and the Health Department are on top of the situation and working together to keep this under control and there is no threat to the community.
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“Very common concern especially this time of year with people in the summer doing more travel, Caribbean, Cancun, those are all very popular areas and of course Florida as well”, Taavon said.
While investigators believe the case may be isolated to one small area in Florida, officials with the Louisiana Department of Health say they are not taking any chances.
Some Miami residents said Friday that they were stocking up on mosquito repellent and planning to bring lunches to work instead of sitting at outdoor cafe tables under the Wynwood neighborhood’s bright murals.
People who travel to areas where the virus is active should take precaution against getting mosquito bites, according to health officials.
“One of the reasons I started to give blood was because of pregnant women”, said Ray Corona. The area is under close surveillance and door-to-door outreach is under way there, officials said at a press conference Friday.
State and local officials have also been contracting with local companies to eliminate mosquito habitats through increased spraying, including of aerial liquid larvicide.
“Florida has become the first state in our nation to have local transmission of the Zika virus”, Florida Gov.
“As far as surveillance is concerned we have multiple systems in place both to identify people who may get infected as well as trapping and testing mosquitoes”, said Dr. Nelson.
U.S. health officials have cautioned for months that the summer mosquito season was likely to bring local outbreaks, with Gulf Coast states such as Florida, Texas and Louisiana, on the frontlines. Many folks say they are staying extra prepared.
Florida has announced more aggressive mosquito-control efforts, and politicians are keen to assure tourists the state is safe to visit.
Pregnant women are considered to be at the greatest risk from the Zika virus because it can cause microcephaly and other birth defects.
“Zika is now here”, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no treatment or preventive vaccine for Zika, and, with the Rio Olympics due to start next weekend in the midst of a continental Zika crisis, the United Kingdom authorities recently advised pregnant women to avoid travelling to the Games.
More than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported across the US.
Health officials have warned of possible localised Zika outbreaks in the USA, particularly since the virus has spread quickly throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean in the past two years. If true, they’re the first documented cases of Zika being transmitted by the insects on the USA mainland.
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Following the news, the United Kingdom issued a travel warning, urging pregnant citizens to postpone their travel to Florida.
