Florida IDs New Miami Neighborhood as Zika Zone

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Health officials announced Thursday a new Zika zone in Miami — a setback less than a month after declaring the nearby Wynwood neighborhood cleared of the virus following aggressive mosquito spraying. Five people have been infected with Zika in a 1-square-mile area of the city just north of the Little Haiti neighborhood and about 3 miles north of Wynwood, according to a statement released Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott's office. It is the third Miami-area neighborhood identified where mosquitoes have transmitted the virus to people, after Wynwood and a touristy section of Miami Beach, which is still considered an active transmission zone. Wynwood was declared free of the virus after 45 days went by without any new infections. These are the first such areas of transmission confirmed in the continental U.S., following major outbreaks of the disease across Latin America. Zika symptoms are so mild that most people who get it don't feel sick, but the disease can cause severe brain-related birth defects if a pregnant woman is infected. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that pregnant women should avoid travel to the new outbreak area, and they should consider postponing non-essential travel to the rest of Miami Dade, according to CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. "We're not yet at the end of mosquito season, so we might continue to see local transmission going on for a little while yet," Skinner said. Officials in Florida h...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Patient Care Source Type: news