US investigating non-travel Zika case in new area in Florida

The US coastal state of Florida is investigating a non-travel related Zika case in an area previously not known with active local transmission of the mosquito-borne virus, the state's Governor, Rick Scott, said on Tuesday.

"Today, we learned that the Florida Department of Health (DOH) is investigating one new individual with non-travel related Zika in Pinellas County," Scott said in a statement.

"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."

Both Wynwood and Miami Beach are located in Florida's Miami-Dade County, which is hundreds of miles away from Pinellas County.

Scott also confirmed four new non-travel related cases of Zika in the impacted area in Wynwood, where the first locally transmitted US cases were reported.

Florida is home to popular tourist destinations like Walt Disney World. It's also the only US state that has reported local Zika transmission by mosquitoes so far.

According to Scott, the total number of local Zika cases in the state has reached 42.

--IANS

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