Zika may live in U.S. insects

Local cases suggest Florida mosquitoes may be infected

In Florida, 328 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, an infection that causes only mild illness in most, but has been linked to severe brain and birth defects in newborn babies.

Until recently, all U.S. cases of Zika were linked to people who travelled to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with outbreaks.

That changed this month, when health officials in Florida began investigating a possible non-travelrelated case in Miami-Dade County. Another popped up in neighbouring Broward County.

On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health added two more possible non-travel-related cases to their list, bringing the total to four.

“Evidence is mounting to suggest local transmission via mosquitoes is going on in South Florida,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told Reuters.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking blood centres in two Florida counties to stop collections.

Florida health department officials are urging residents and visitors to co-operate in the investigation, which began Wednesday, and will include door-to-door outreach and urine sample collection. In June, the Health Department announced the state’s first confirmed case of microcephaly in an infant born to a mother with Zika. She contracted the virus while in Haiti, according to the health department.

Florida is tracking 53 Zika cases involving pregnant women.