Florida Looking Into New Non-Travel Related Case Of Zika On Gulf Coast

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Until now, the non-travel related cases of Zika that have popped up in Florida have been limited to a certain area in downtown Miami, as well as Miami Beach. That could be changing, after Gov. Rick Scott’s office said officials may have identified a new case of the virus that could possibly be linked to local mosquitoes on the Gulf Coast.

Scott’s office says the new case is in Pinellas County, which sits just next to Tampa. As such, the Department of Health has started door-to-door outreach and sampling there, as well as mosquito abatement and reduction measures.

“Today, we learned that the Florida Department of Health is investigating one new individual with non-travel related Zika in Pinellas County,” the governor said in a statement. “While this investigation is ongoing, DOH still believes that ongoing active transmissions are only occurring in the two previously identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach. ”

There are four new cases of non-travel related Zika in the Wynwood area of Miami to report as well, which was the first neighborhood to report local transmission of the virus. These new cases bring Florida’s total of non-travel related Zika infections to 42.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been urging pregnant women to stay away from the affected areas of Miami Beach and Wynwood where mosquitoes are believed to be active, as Zika can cause birth defects.

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