Zika Virus: CDC Issues Miami Travel Advisory After 10 New Cases Confirmed

TAMPA BAY, FL — In response to Monday's news that there are 10 new locally acquired Zika virus cases in Florida, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pregnant women avoid the area of local transmission and suggests pregnant women who have traveled to the area on or after June 15 be tested for Zika.

The state’s total of non-travel-related cases of Zika now stands at 14. In light of the recent development in the local spread of the virus, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday morning asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to activate its Emergency Response Team.

The CDC already had two members of its response team in Florida, the agency reported Monday afternoon. Three more were expected to arrive sometime on Monday with three more to follow on Tuesday.

The CDC's full list of recommendations related to the affected area can be viewed on its website.

The area where local transmission of Zika virus has been confirmed includes about one square mile of Miami's Wynwood neighborhood.

Florida became the first state in the nation to confirm locally acquired Zika virus cases on Friday. The four cases initially reported involved two people in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward. The 10 new cases, Scott said, are believed to have originated in the same square-mile area implicated in local transmission on Friday. Locally acquired cases involve transmission of the virus through mosquito bites.

“This remains the only area of the state where DOH [Department of Health] has confirmed there are ongoing local transmissions of Zika,” Scott said in a statement. “Among the 10 new individuals announced today, six are asymptomatic and were identified from the door-to-door community survey that DOH is conducting.”

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness that is characterized by a fever, rash and joint pain. While the illness typically resolves within a week, some severe cases may require hospitalization.

The CDC has confirmed that the Zika virus is responsible for causing severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and often with brains that do not develop properly.

Until Friday, the 1,400 or so cases identified in the U.S. had all been contracted while people were traveling out of the U.S. or through sexual transmission. The CDC has confirmed a number of sexually transmitted Zika virus cases in the country. The 15th case, reported in New York last month, was the first in which a woman transmitted the disease to a man. New York, like Florida, has also had a baby born with a Zika virus-related defect.

See also:

• U.S. Mosquitoes Transmit Zika Virus for First Time
• U.K. Issues Zika Virus Travel Advisory for Florida
• Florida Promises ‘Aggressive Mosquito Control Efforts’
• Zika Virus in Florida: March of Dimes Offers Advice, Warnings for Pregnant Women
• Congress Vacations While Zika Virus Spreads Locally in U.S.
• Florida Zika Virus Update: Non-Travel-Related Case Under Investigation
• 1st Baby Born With Zika Virus-Related Defect Born In Florida
• Zika Virus in Florida: What Pregnant Women Need to Know
• CDC Records First Female-to-Male Zika Virus Transmission

The CDC recommends women who are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant postpone travel to areas where there is widespread Zika infection.

To help residents resolve questions about the virus and its spread, the state has set up a Zika Virus Information Hotline at 1-855-622-6735. The hotline has fielded more than 2,421 calls since it was launched Feb. 12, the state reported.

As of Friday, Florida had confirmed 386 travel-related cases of Zika virus to date, meaning those sickened contracted the virus while traveling outside of the state. The total number of cases includes 55 pregnant women who are being monitored. The 14 locally transmitted cases bring the state's total to 400. More than 20 of the travel-related cases have involved residents in Tampa Bay area counties.

In light of confirmed local transmission of the virus, the United Kingdom issued a travel advisory on Friday to its residents planning travel to Florida. It is warning pregnant women especially about the dangers the virus may pose.

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