Mosquitoes have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus on the U.S. mainland for the first time, health officials said Friday, a long-feared turn in the epidemic sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean. Four recently infected people in the Miami area?one woman and three men?are believed to have caught the virus locally through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said at a news conference.
U.S. health officials said they do not expect a widespread outbreak of the sort seen in Brazil and other countries. While officials have long predicted mosquitoes in the continental U.S. would begin spreading Zika this summer, they have also said they expect only isolated clusters of infections.
No mosquitoes in Florida have actually been found to be carrying Zika, despite the testing of 19,000 by the state lab. But other methods of Zika transmission, such as travel to a stricken country or sex with an infected person, have been ruled out. The four patients in Florida would be the first of the more than 1,650 U.S. Zika cases to have contracted the virus from a mosquito on the U.S. mainland. ?This is not just a Florida issue. It?s a national issue?we just happen to be at the forefront,? Scott said. Some medical experts said pregnant women should not travel to the Miami area, especially if it involves spending time outdoors. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not recommending people avoid travelling to South Florida. The virus is so mild that most peo...