Florida's Department of Health (Florida Health) reported three new cases of non–travel-related Zika today, including one outside the 1-square-mile "hot zone" in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. There are now 28 locally transmitted Zika cases in Florida.
Florida Health officials said they believe active transmission is occurring only in a 10-block area of Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown Miami. All active investigations currently under way are being conducted in Miami-Dade County.
There were also 10 new travel-related Zika cases reported in the state. Florida has 413 travel-related cases, and 58 of those are in pregnant women.
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the first case of locally transmitted Zika virus in Miami was in a pregnant woman. All pregnant women are still encouraged to avoid the Wynwood neighborhood, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott has said Zika testing will be available to women at each prenatal appointment.
Though 80% of Zika cases typically cause few or no symptoms, pregnant women infected with the virus can give birth to babies with severe birth defects, including microcephaly, a smaller-than-normal brain.
CDC: Zika spikes in Puerto Rico
In its weekly Zika update late yesterday, the CDC documented a spike of Zika cases in the US territories, mostly in Puerto Rico.
As of Aug 10, there are now 6,587 Zika cases in US territories, up by 1,039 from last week. But the Associated Press (AP) is reporting even larger numbers: 10,690, according to Puerto Rico's Health Secretary Ana Rius, MD. Rius said that's 1,914 new cases this week. A total of 1,035 cases in Puerto Rico involve pregnant women, according to the story.
The United States now has 1,962 cases, 137 more than last week, the CDC said. All but 6 cases are travel-related, according to the agency, who has yet to confirm the 22 addition locally transmitted cases in Florida. Twenty-two of the cases in the US are sexually transmitted.
According to the CDC, as of Aug 4 there are 510 pregnant women in the 50 states who've tested positive for Zika virus and 521 in US territories. Those numbers are up by 31 and 28 women, respectively.
In addition, 16 babies have been born in the United States with Zika-related birth defects (1 more than last week), along with 5 pregnancy losses involving abnormalities related to Zika virus, the CDC said. The number of poor pregnancy outcomes grew to 2 in US territories, as the CDC reported a baby born with Zika-related birth defects for the first time in a territory.
The CDC also reported six cases of Zika-related Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a neurologic disorder. That's one additional case since last week. New York still has the highest incidence of Zika virus infection, with 530 cases, 41 more than last week.
WHO, PAHO situation reports
Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published its biweekly Zika situation report, noting that the Bahamas now has confirmed local transmission of the mosquito-borne disease.
Several countries in Central and South America are documenting a decreasing trend in cases. Mexico has also noticed a drop in cases, as have all Caribbean countries except St. Barthelemy and St. Martin.
Finally, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its weekly Zika situation report yesterday, added the Cayman Islands to the total number of countries or territories with Zika virus, bringing the number to 69. Zika is endemic in 4 of those countries.
Grenada is the latest country to report Zika-linked GBS. Now 17 countries have documented such cases.
Fifteen countries have reported cases of microcephaly, with two cases recently reported in Guinea-Bissau in families with no travel history. Genetic sequencing tests are still pending on Zika samples from that country to assess if they virus belongs to the Americas strain or the African strain.
Brazil reported 24 more cases of microcephaly, bringing that country's total to 1,773. In light of the Summer Olympics, the WHO said Brazil is providing Zika virus test kits, made available by the local authorities, at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Rio de Janeiro. Testing is encouraged for symptomatic athletes, volunteers, visitors, and residents.
See also:
Aug 11 CDC Zika case update
Aug 11 CDC pregnant women Zika update
Aug 11 CDC pregnancy outcomes Zikaupdate
Aug 11 WHO Zika situation report
Aug 11 PAHO Zika update
Aug 12 AP story
Aug 10 CIDRAP News story "New case of locally transmitted Zika in Miami as details about first patients emerge"
