The spread of the Zika virus moved beyond the Miami hotzone where the first homegrown cases in the US emerged, with federal health officials issuing a travel advisory Friday recommending pregnant women avoid traveling to Miami-Dade County.
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Five cases of Zika have been connected to mosquitoes in Miami Beach, bringing the state’s caseload to 36 infections not related to travel outside the U.S., Florida’s governor and health department announced Friday.
He said the authorities continue to work closely with Wynwood businesses in the prevention of Zika, while also providing aid to compensate for economic losses in the area, a result of the outbreak of the disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and also sexually among humans.
“We believe we have a new area where local transmissions are occurring in Miami Beach”, Scott said.
That’s why Zika prevention messages in the airports and cruise ports serving South Florida, home to the only locally acquired cases in the mainland USA, are critical, public heath experts say. The three men and two women include two Florida residents and three people who had traveled to Miami, one from NY, one from Texas and one from Taiwan.
The new transmissions come as Miami-Dade continues to battle Zika in the Wynwood arts neighbourhood of Miami, the site of the first locally transmitted cases of Zika in the continental United States. Several more blocks have been cleared.
Officials at Art Basel Miami Beach and other upcoming events cautiously expressed confidence in the region’s mosquito control efforts.
The U.S. Senate’s top Democrat issued a call for Congress to return from its weekslong summer break to deal with the virus, an unlikely scenario in light of the dysfunction that prevented lawmakers from agreeing on money to fight the mosquito-borne disease. Sen.
“I mean it’s Florida, we’ve got mosquitos, and we’ve got a whole different bunch of viruses and things, but I don’t think there’s any cause to be alarmed”, she said.
Scott said Miami-Dade County already had begun an intensified mosquito control campaign in Miami Beach.
William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, said hotels experienced minor cancellations after the first Zika cases were announced in Wynwood.
In a statement late Thursday, Morales said Florida’s Department of Health was investigating Zika cases in Miami Beach but no infections were confirmed.
The virus, which has now spread to 70 countries, has been linked to a rare and severe birth defect known as microcephaly, which in newborns is characterized by an abnormally small head and often underdeveloped brain, as well as an array of other fetal abnormalities.
Of all the individuals with Zika, 68 are pregnant women.
Health officials say symptoms of Zika virus can include fever, headache, conjunctivitis and skin rash, along with joint and muscle pain.
“We’re taking extra precautions”, said Yendi Alvarez, the show’s media coordinator.
Miami Beach has certain characteristics that may make it more hard for public health officials to fight the virus’ spread, Frieden said today.
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How concerned are you about the spread of Zika virus? “We can’t predict how long this will continue, but we do know that it will be hard to control”.
