Florida Reports New Zika Cases, Including One In Pinellas County Near St. Petersburg
The patient in Pinellas County had not traveled internationally so officials are trying to determine if the illness was caused by a mosquito transmission.
Miami Herald:
Four More Local Zika Cases In Wynwood — And First One In Pinellas County
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday announced the first local case of Zika outside of South Florida — in Pinellas County — along with four more in Wynwood. ... A total of 42 local Zika infections have reportedly been contracted in four Florida counties this year, with one each in Broward, Palm Beach and now Pinellas, and the remainder in Miami-Dade — where health officials have identified two zones where mosquitoes are actively transmitting the disease: Wynwood and Miami Beach. (Chang, 8/23)
The Washington Post:
Florida’s Zika Outbreak Is Spreading, With New Case In St. Petersburg Area
Florida state officials have reported five new cases of Zika, four in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, where the first locally transmitted cases in the country were reported, and the fifth on the other side of the state in Pinellas County. It’s that last case that’s the most worrisome because it might signal that mosquitoes infected with the virus are spreading. But it’s too soon to know, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have yet to issue a travel advisory indicating there is active local transmission in that area. (Cha, 8/23)
The New York Times:
Florida Investigates New Zika Cases On Gulf Coast And In Miami
When Florida announced a new case of the Zika virus on Tuesday, this time in Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg, it raised an urgent question: Had local mosquitoes in yet another part of the state started to spread the virus? The short answer is probably not, scientists say. The announcement of the case in Pinellas, on the other side of the state from the current danger zone in Miami-Dade County, may sound scary, but the reality is that single cases are usually one-offs and do not necessarily mean that the virus is starting to spread in a new area. (Tavernise, 8/24)
Health News Florida:
Pinellas Has First Case Of Non-Travel-Related Zika
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, whose city sits across the bay from Pinellas County, said Tuesday that he isn't waiting for federal, state or county officials to act. Buckhorn said he's authorized city officials to buy 4,000 mosquito "dunks," or small, doughnut-shaped pellets. Code enforcement officers will comb the city, looking for abandoned or foreclosed homes with pools and drop the dunks into the water. The pellets kill mosquito larvae for up to 30 days. (Ochoa and Miller, 8/23)
The Associated Press:
Florida: 5 New Zika Cases Including 1 In The Tampa Bay Area
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday announced a non-travel-related case of Zika in the Tampa Bay region. It's the first in the state outside the Miami area, but Scott said there wasn't enough evidence to date to declare a new zone of local transmission. (Lush, 8/23)
NBC News:
New Zika Outbreak Found In Florida's St. Petersburg
Florida's got a third outbreak of Zika virus, this one on the Gulf coast, state officials said Tuesday. At least one person has been infected locally in Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Gov. Rick Scott said. And the state reported four more cases in Wynwood, an area north of Miami where the first continental U.S. Zika outbreak was seen. (Fox, 8/23)
Health News Florida:
Gov. Scott, Miami-Dade Officials Spar Over Timing Of Zika Information Release
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has two goals when it comes to releasing information on locally transmitted cases of Zika. Make the information "accurate" and make it "timely." Scott's reiterated this message, using these exact words, numerous times at press conferences over the past week. But on Monday, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County officials confronted the governor, saying he failed to meet the goal of timeliness. They're irked Scott waited until a press conference on Friday afternoon to let them know the Department of Health had confirmed five locally transmitted cases of Zika in Miami Beach. (8/23)
In Miami, where the first travel advisory was placed —
Stat:
Zika Anxiety Leading Some Pregnant Women To Flee Miami
But all the advice the first-time parents have gotten sums up to one simple yet terrifying maxim: “Don’t get bit.” [Rishi] Sehgal and his wife, Brittany, are among a small number of expecting parents who have decided that’s not enough — and are looking to leave for safer grounds. There has been no official recommendation that pregnant residents relocate, but the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has encouraged outsiders to avoid nonessential travel to Miami-Dade if they are pregnant or trying to conceive. (Wessel, 8/23)
The Washington Post's graphic updates all reported cases of Zika from around the nation —
The Washington Post:
All The Reported Cases Of Zika In The United States
There are 10,314 confirmed Zika cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health. This includes 2,279 cases in the continental U.S. and 8,035 cases in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The first local spread of Zika virus through infected mosquitoes in the continental U.S. occurred in Miami, Florida in late July. (Stamm and Cameron, 8/24)
