Five New Non-Travel Cases Of Zika In Florida
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - More bad news on the Zika virus front.
The state's Department of Health (DOH) confirmed they are investigating five new non-travel related case of the virus in Florida as of Tuesday. Four of the cases are from the impacted area of Wynwood. The fifth case was detected in Pinellas County.
If so the state would have a third transmission zone which does not surprise Dr. Aileen Marty.
"I expect it to occur anywhere these mosquitos exist were people come with infected blood," she said.
Health department workers have begun door-to-door outreach and sampling in Pinellas County and mosquito abatement and reduction activities are also taking place. The DOH said more details about the Pinellas County case will be given when their investigation concludes.
"While this investigation is ongoing, DOH still believes that ongoing active transmissions are only occurring in the two previously identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach," said Governor Rick Scott in a statement.
Zika 101: Prevent Spread By Protecting Yourself
"As we've seen in Wynwood, our aggressive mosquito control and public education efforts are working which is why DOH was able to clear a significant area in Wynwood today, bringing the total cleared area to 76 blocks," said Scott. "This means that we have now cleared half of the area in Wynwood where we believe ongoing active transmission of Zika is occurring."
The DOH reports they have cleared the perimeter of the Wynwood area and the current hot zone is approximately half a square mile.
Joseph Furst with the Wynwood Improvement District says a shaded area that the state created and labeled a Zika zone is just wrong.
"I think the map needs to be lifted for several reasons. From a policy perspective, it creates a false sense of security for people who are outside of the map when we all know this is a regional state and national issue. And for those who reside inside the map, it creates tremendous economic impact," said Furst.
Adam Gersten, owner of Gramps in Wynwood, said while business is better other cities and states need to take note of what's happening in Wynwood.
"They're going to shrink it here. It's probably going to grow around the rest of the state so I think it's something that we're all going to be dealing with for a long time," said Gersten.
He went on, "This is not a Florida problem and I think that what we are really maybe starting to understand is that we need to see more action from every level of government science. Everyone needs to be involved in solving this problem because it's something that's really going to affect the entire country."
As the virus continues to spread, Governor Scott made his rounds.
"We've allocated $26.2 million of the state budget to date to the department of health and they have allocated dollars around the state based on what the needs are in each county so if there are local needs, we will work with them," said Scott.
Business owners say they can only wait and see how much more they'll be impacted.
"People should just put on repellent and continue to live their lives," said Gersten.
Dr. Marty says people are not taking the Zika threat seriously.
"There is sort of a lackadaisical attitude, 'Well maybe I should get infected now and later on it will be safe to get pregnant.' But because we do not yet fully understand all the things this virus can do that's really not the best attitude."
The total number of local transmissions of Zika in Florida is 42.
Click here for more information on the Zika virus or here for more Zika-related stories.
