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Zika virus has reached the US with four cases reported in Florida. Picture: Supplied
FOUR people in Florida have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes, health officials say, making them the first to be infected on the US mainland.
“While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area,†according to a statement from the Florida Department of Health.
No mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika, but one woman and three men in Florida likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites, Governor Rick Scott said during a news conference in Orlando.
Evaristo Miqueli, a natural resources officer with Broward County Mosquito Control, takes water samples, checking for the presence of mosquito larvae in florida. Picture: APSource:AP
More than 1650 Zika infections have been reported in the US, but the four patients in Florida would be the first not linked to travel outside the US mainland.
“This is not just a Florida issue. It’s a national issue — we just happen to be at the forefront,†Scott said.
Health officials believe the infections occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the popular Wynwood arts district, Gov. Scott said.
It’s the only part of the state currently being tested for potential local transmissions of Zika, Gov. Scott said. Women in the area who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant are urged to contact their doctors and the county health department for Zika prevention kits.
Federal health officials have not recommended that pregnant women avoid travel to South Florida.
Florida Governor Rick Scott says Zika is now not just a Florida issue. Picture: GettySource:AFP
Zika primarily spreads through bites from tropical mosquitoes, but it also can be spread through sex. In most people, the virus causes only mild illness, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the foetus. There is no vaccine.
Since February, over 380 Zika cases related to travel have been confirmed in Florida, including 151 cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses is found in the southern US. While health officials have predicted that mosquitoes in the continental US would begin spreading Zika this summer, they also have said they expect only isolated clusters of infections and not widespread outbreaks.
Florida should be able to contain the virus to an isolated area because its neighbourhoods have better sanitation and living conditions than countries where Zika outbreaks have been widespread, said Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner for agriculture and consumer services.
Miami-Dade mosquito control worker Carlos Vargas pointing to the Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae at a home in Miami, Florida. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
The US Food and Drug Administration has told blood centres in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to suspend collections until they can screen each unit of blood for the Zika virus with authorised tests.
Neighbouring counties have been urged to implement the same precautions, and visitors to South Florida in the last month are encouraged to defer donations as well.
The FDA previously advised US blood banks to refuse donations from people who recently travelled to areas outside the country that have Zika outbreaks.
Florida’s main supplier of blood, OneBlood, said it was working as quickly as possible to comply with the FDA’s recommendation and would start testing all its collections for Zika overnight.