South Beach has been identified as second site of Zika transmission by mosquitoes on the us mainland, Florida officials said Friday, Aug. 19.
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The discovery prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to announce that it was expanding its travel warning for pregnant women to include the tourist-friendly area of Miami Beach.
MIAMI-Federal health officials advised pregnant women and their partners on Friday to consider putting off travel to any part of Miami-Dade County after the state confirmed a second area of mosquito-borne Zika transmission covering some of the most alluring tourist areas of Miami Beach.
“The issue there is that it’s an area where they’re looking hard for Zika; they’re finding some of it; there have been other isolated instances of local spread of Zika, and when Zika starts to spread, it may be two or three weeks before there’s any way to be sure it’s spreading”, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
None of the people infected in Miami Beach have traveled to Zika-infected regions, which suggests that mosquitos in the area of Miami Beach are infected and spreading the virus.
The discovery of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in South Florida certainly isn’t ideal for tourism, but local officials and business leaders are confident the long-term impact on the tourism industry will be minor.
The CDC said the first Miami Beach case was identified in late July. While the state is already battling the virus in the Wynwood Arts neighborhood, the new area is reportedly between 8th and 28th streets in South Beach – an area covering around 1.5 square miles.
Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat, said the transmission of Zika in Miami Beach “is the most alarming development yet in the rapidly growing threat of Zika in the United States”. It is most unsafe to pregnant women, due to the virus’ link to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect where babies are born with smaller than normal heads and underdeveloped brains.
Most people infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.
“We believe we have a new area where local transmissions are occurring in Miami Beach”, Scott said.
Eisenberg said that paying attention to past outbreaks of locally transmitted dengue, rather than the mere presence of these mosquitoes, can give researchers a better guess as to the areas most vulnerable to local transmission of Zika. The top destination for those tourists was Miami Beach. As of August 19, the state has confirmed 36 cases of non-travel related Zika virus, 488 cases of travel-related Zika virus and 68 cases involving pregnant women.
The city manager of Miami Beach has told local officials that two Zika cases are linked to the community. The program tests standing water to see if mosquitoes are breeding, captures adult mosquitoes and tests for viruses, and sprays for mosquitoes in areas were adult mosquitoes tested positive.
“We don’t think our advice to wear long sleeves and long trousers is likely to be widely followed in some of these areas”, Frieden said.
A broader travel advisory for pregnant women could threaten tourism and heighten fears for pregnant women living in the Miami area.
“We’re seeing more than 90 percent of mosquitoes in traps killed during each event”, he said.
For male travelers, if they do not develop suspected Zika symptoms, they are urged to avoid sex or use condoms for two months after their return from an affected area.
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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. At least 63 pregnant women in Florida have contracted the disease.
