Although no mosquitoes have tested positive for the Zika virus yet, Florida health officials believe that active transmission of the Zika virus is occurring in a one-square-mile area just north of downtown Miami.
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Gov Scott said the cases involved three men and a woman, and that none had been hospitalized.
“This morning we learned that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite”.
Florida’s surgeon general tried to calm concerns Friday, a day after the state became the first in the nation to report locally transmitted cases of Zika.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four people in Florida likely contracted Zika from mosquitoes.
Health officials in the commonwealth continue to monitor mosquitoes for Zika.
Counties of pregnant women not disclosed.
“Zika is now here”, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the CDC, said at a press briefing.
Experts say they expect to see more “home grown” cases.
The Louisiana Health Department says there are 15 confirmed Zika cases in the state. Both states have had local cases of dengue and chikungunya, related viruses that are spread by the same mosquito species.
“We believe that widespread transmission in the continental U.S.is unlikely, but it’s not impossible and that’s why we’re aggressively keeping our guard up and investigating every possible incident that may represent widespread transmission”, he said. President Obama requested almost $2 billion for Zika prevention earlier this year, but Washington congressmen weren’t able to reach an agreement on the Zika funding.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday asked all blood centers in Miami-Dade, Broward and surrounding areas to stop taking donations until they can be tested for the virus.
Right now, there is no vaccine for the virus.
Fauci also tried to reassure the public about the magnitude of a potential Zika outbreak in America.
“Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy”.
The question on everyone’s mind now is obvious: How long will it be ’til Zika spreads elsewhere in the US?
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Global health officials have found a connection between pregnant women contracting the virus and a birth defect called microcephaly in their newborn infants.
