Home Emergency Medicine Two More Possible Cases of Non-Travel-Related Zika in Florida

Two More Possible Cases of Non-Travel-Related Zika in Florida

If all four are confirmed, they would be first instances of infection in continental United States

THURSDAY, July 28, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Florida health officials are investigating two more unexplained cases of Zika infection, bringing to four the number of cases that don’t seem to be related to travel to countries where the virus is circulating.

This suggests the possibility that local transmission of the virus that has been linked to severe birth defects has begun, officials said.

The four cases are in the South Florida counties of Miami-Dade and Broward.

“Evidence is mounting to suggest local transmission via mosquitoes is going on in South Florida,” said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CNN reported. “These cases fit similar transmission patterns (of) mosquito-borne diseases like chikungunya that we’ve seen in South Florida in years past.”

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