Zika spreads in Miami

WASHINGTON United States federal health officials are warning pregnant women not to travel to trendy Miami Beach after Florida confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is active in the popular tourist destination.

The new warnings represent a challenge to Florida’s multibilliondollar tourism industry, with Miami Beach accounting for nearly half of visitor stays in the city, and heighten concerns over Zika’s spread in the continental US.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said state health officials had identified five cases of Zika believed to have been contracted in Miami Beach. ‘‘This means we believe we have a new area where local transmissions are occurring.’’

The state had stepped up pesticide spraying efforts in the area, he said. Reuters