11:23

AM EDT July 29, 2016 Jordan Ferrell

Zika cases likely spread by Florida

mosquitoes
A small area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown, is likely
to be ground zero for Zika-carrying mosquitoes in the state of Florida.

The Florida Department of Health believes they have gathered enough

information as part of the ongoing investigation into non-travel
related cases of Zika in the Miami-Dade area to conclude that there is a
"high likelihood" that four recent Zika cases are the result of local
transmission.

The department believes that active transmission of the virus is

occurring around the Wynwood, Beverly Terrace and Edgewater
neighborhoods of Miami.

No mosquitoes currently trapped in the impact area have tested

positive for the Zika virus, but the FDOH is currently going door-to-
door collecting urine samples in hopes of pinpointing the infected
areas and stopping any further transmission. In addition, blood banks
in the area have currently put a halt on collecting donations from
impacted zones until further notice.
At a press conference in Orlando, Fla. on Friday morning the
Agricultural Commissioner of Florida Adam Putnam reinstated that the
rst and best line of defense against the transmission of Zika virus via
mosquitoes is to destroy the habitat they live in. Putnam recommends
that home owners drain any and all standing water that may be on their
propery.

"Now that Florida has become the rst state to have a local
transmission, likely through a mosquito, we will continue to put every
resource available to ghting the spread of Zika in our state," Governor
Rick Scott said. "If it becomes clear more resources are needed, we will
not hesitate to allocate them."

According to Scott the FDOH will immediately begin working with

commercial pest control companies to increase the e orts of
eradicating mosquitoes in the impacted areas. Scott also noted that
Miami-Dade and Broward County Mosquito Control Districs will
receive $1.28 million in state funds through December to combat the
virus.

The FDOH has said that they will continue to issue Zika virus updates
each weekday at 2 p.m. The update will include a Center for Disease
Control-con rmed Zika case count by county and information on how
to better stop the spread of potential Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

There are currently 331 con rmed cases of travel-related Zika virus in
the state of Florida, with 99 of those being in the Miami-Dade area.
There are a total of 55 cases involving pregnant women. The counties
the pregnancy cases are located in are not being released.

Symptoms that are most commonly associated with the contraction of

Zika virus are fever, rashes, joint pain and Conjunctivitis. Some of the
less common symptoms are muscle pain and headache.

If you think that you may be infected with the virus it is strongly
recommended that you contact your county health department and ask
about being tested.

If you have any questions or would like to nd out more about the virus
you can call the Zika Virus Information Hotline at 1-888-622-6735.

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