An outbreak of the Zika virus has been confirmed in Florida, making this the FIRST time the virus has been transmitted via infected mosquitos within the continental U.S. So far the outbreak has infected at least 4 people, and officials are doing everything they can to contain the virus!
The Zika virus is officially in Florida, meaning mosquitos carrying the virus have, for the first time, been found within the continental U.S.! “This means Florida has become the first state in our nation to have local transmission of the Zika virus,” Florida Governor, Rick Scott, announced on July 29.
Rick also stated that the infected area is a small area in northern Miami that is about a square mile in size. Currently, it is the only area where the Zika virus is being transmitted from mosquitoes to people. “We’re being very aggressive at testing people there. We are testing the mosquitoes there and we are spraying to make sure it’s contained,” Rick explained. He also said health officials do not think that the transmission was ongoing.
And while the Zika virus does make people sick — think flu-like symptoms — it’s extremely dangerous for pregnant women as the virus causes severe birth defects. Therefore, the CDC has previously recommended that pregnant women, or ones contemplating pregnancy, postpone travel to Zika-afflicted areas. And now those afflicted areas include south Florida AND Miami, which is home to about 5.5 million people!
The state is working with the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to monitor and combat the outbreak, the governor confirmed. And he also expressed disappointment that Congress did NOT pass a bill to allocate funding to the CDC to prepare and combat the Zika virus — yikes! “This is not just a Florida issue. This is a U.S. issue, it is a national issue. We’re just the front of it,” he said during a news conference. And we could not agree more!
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