The Zika Situation Gets Worse in Florida

4 new cases of locally-transmitted Zika announced
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 9, 2016 3:47 PM CDT
The Zika Situation Gets Worse in Florida
In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito, known to carry the Zika virus, is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil.   (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Florida's governor has announced four new cases of Zika virus infection that health officials believe were spread by mosquitoes in a Miami neighborhood, the AP reports. Florida now has 21 people who contracted the virus locally. According to a statement Tuesday from Gov. Rick Scott's office, the Florida Department of Health still believes active transmissions are only happening within a 1-square-mile area in Miami's Wynwood arts district. Hillary Clinton, who visited Miami on Tuesday, is calling on Congress to immediately return to Washington to pass legislation to provide emergency funding for Zika testing, treatment, and research.

Business owners in the Wynwood arts district say they've been losing money since local Zika infections were announced, and they're asking government officials for help. The Miami Herald reports the Wynwood Business Improvement District held an emergency meeting Monday to urge local, state, and federal authorities to speed up mosquito eradication efforts. They also want recovery funds for retailers, gallery owners, and restaurateurs who say visitors have stopped coming. Pregnant women have been advised not to travel to Wynwood. Pregnant residents were urged to take extra steps to avoid mosquito bites. (Meanwhile, Texas has now seen its first death linked to Zika: a newborn.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X