FLORIDA: Zika Virus Arrives In United States

The Washington Post reports:

Florida officials on Friday announced the first local spread of the Zika virus through infected mosquitoes in the continental United States.

Gov. Rick Scott made the announcement during a press conference Friday after a health department investigation into four suspected cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. He said transmission was confined to a small neighborhood just north of Miami.

“We learned today that four people in our state likely have the Zika virus as a result of a mosquito bite,” he said. “All four of these people live in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, and the Florida Department of Health believes that active transmissions of this virus could be occurring in one small area in Miami.”

Scott said state officials continue to “put every resource available into fighting the spread of Zika in our state,” adding that Florida has been preparing for this type of situation for months, much in the way it prepares for hurricanes.