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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Florida Has First Native Zika Cases, Governor Says

(CN) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday that the state likely has the first cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland.

Although he said no mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika, he acknowledged that one woman and three men in Miami-Dade and Broward counties likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites.

More than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported in the U.S., but the four patients in Florida would be the first not linked to travel outside the U.S. mainland.

Scott said health officials believe the infections occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami. He is urging pregnant women in Miami Dade area to go to OB/GYN physicians for Zika prevention kit

Zika primarily spreads through bites from tropical mosquitoes. In most people, the virus causes only mild illness, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the fetus.

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