Florida Zika Virus: Travel-Related Cases Top 400

TAMPA BAY, FL — The total number of Zika virus infections in Florida swelled to 486 on Thursday with the state’s announcement of 21 new travel-related cases and three non-travel related cases. The number of travel-related infections confirmed now stands at 404.

Of the 486 confirmed cases, 25 are locally acquired, meaning victims were bitten by mosquitoes in Florida. Fifty-seven cases involved pregnant women from around the state.

Thursday’s new travel-related cases mainly involve residents in Broward County with 17 new confirmations there. The Florida Department of Health also confirmed two new cases in Hernando County, and one each in Miami-Dade and Seminole counties.

The 25 non-travel related cases, including the three new cases confirmed Thursday, involve exposure that occurred in a one-square-mile area of Miami. Since it was discovered that mosquitoes in the area were transmitting the virus, the state has been testing people who reside there.

“The department has completed testing in a four block area of the southwest quadrant of the one-square mile area and no people within the four block radius tested positive,” FDOH wrote in its Thursday Zika Virus Update report. “The department has cleared that area and is continuing to test people within the one-square mile radius.”

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness that is characterized by a fever, rash and joint pain. While the illness typically resolves within a week, some severe cases may require hospitalization.

The CDC has confirmed that the Zika virus is responsible for causing severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and often with brains that do not develop properly.

In the Tampa Bay area, all confirmed cases remain travel related, which means the virus was contracted while patients were traveling outside of the state. As of Monday, the number of confirmed cases in Bay area counties are as follows:

• Hernando County – 4
• Hillsborough County – 12
• Manatee County – 2
• Pasco County – 6
• Pinellas County – 7
• Polk County – 13

To date, no cases involving Sarasota County residents have been confirmed.

Aside from mosquitoes, Zika can be spread through sexual contact in some cases, the CDC notes. One of the confirmed cases in Polk County originated through sexual contact, the state of Florida reported. The patient in the case contracted the virus while traveling outside of the country.

The CDC recommends women who are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant postpone travel to areas where there is widespread Zika infection.

To help residents resolve questions about the virus and its spread, the state has set up a Zika Virus Information Hotline at 1-855-622-6735.

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