Florida authorities today reported the first case in 2017 of transmission by a local zika virus mosquito, which occurred in Manatee County, west of the state, although there is no evidence of an active outbreak.
The Florida Department of Health said the case was specifically caused by the bite of a mosquito in the residence of a couple who had recently been in Cuba, one of which showed symptoms of the disease shortly after the trip.
The state health authorities, who tested the couple this week, estimate that the mosquito stung the infected person in Cuba and, once with the virus, stung the couple.
“There is no evidence of active and continuous transmission of zika,” the Health Department said in a statement, noting that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in English). an isolated case “does not constitute a zika zone”.
Florida Government mosquito control specialists have deployed appropriate protocols to reduce insect activity and to confirm if there is an active zika transmission scenario in the area.
Last year, Florida recorded an outbreak of zika transmitted by local mosquitoes, the first in the United States, and this is the first case of local transmission, according to authorities.
Last August, the state health authorities reported the first case of sexually transmitted zika that is registered in the state so far this year and involves a person who recently was in Cuba, which infected another with the one who had sex.
Zika is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes or from person to person through sexual intercourse. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to the expectant child, who at the same time can suffer microcephaly and neurological problems.
According to figures from the Florida Department of Health, since January 1 to date there have been 187 cases of zika, of which 154 correspond to people who were infected abroad.
The figure includes eleven cases of local transmission for 2016 but confirmed by tests in 2017 and 32 of which the details are unknown.
Of the total cases, 107 correspond to pregnant women.
