That neighborhood was the first site on the US mainland where health officials determined mosquitoes were transmitting Zika.
Advertisement
Governor Rick Scott said, “While we have learned there are two new individuals that contracted the Zika virus through mosquito bites in our state, we still believe local transmissions are only occurring in an area that is less than one square mile in Wynwood”.
Miami Beach’s mayor also went on the offensive.
Florida’s caseload of Zika cases not related to travel outside the USA has grown to 35, according to a statement Thursday from the state’s Department of Health. The Times talked to a man who runs a bakery in Wynnwood and lives in Miami Beach with his wife, who is seven and a half months pregnant; he said: “I’m still searching for that reasonable reaction to something that is still quite mysterious in its effects”.
Morales said one case involved a tourist who visited Miami Beach about two weeks ago, while the other involved a resident who works in the city.
State and federal health officials have issued a travel notice, warning pregnant women to stay away from certain areas of downtown Miami after Florida officials announced 10 more people had contracted Zika virus from local mosquitoes.
South Beach has been identified as second site of Zika transmission by mosquitoes on the US mainland, Florida officials said Friday. He says strong winds over the narrow island city also hinder such flights.
The new incidents bring the total to 35 cases of the Zika virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in South Florida, according to the state Department of Health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant women to avoid the entire neighborhood.
Scott said aggressive spraying in the newly identified area has already begun in the suspect area.
Health officials are investigating nine of the non-travel-related cases because they are not within the area of local transmission and do not appear to be linked to that area.
“There is strong evidence that local transmission is occurring”, a Miami-Dade Health Department spokeswoman said.
The health department said Thursday that the only place in Florida with active spread of the disease is a one-square-mile zone in Wynwood.
Advertisement
“Our strategy has been and will continue to be focusing on the elimination of potential breeding sites and educating our residents and businesses on what they need to do”, Miami City Manager Jimmy Morales said in a written statement to the Herald. “Today, to ensure the county has every possible tool to fight Zika, DOH will be sending in additional commercial pest control companies to assist with local mosquito control efforts in Miami-Dade County”.
