CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Health investigating five new non-travel related cases of Zika, including one case in Pinellas County, Governor Rick Scott announced Tuesday.
The other four cases are in the impacted area in Wynwood, near downtown Miami. However, testing results have led to an overall reduction of the size of the Area of Active Local Zika Virus Transmission. The active area is now .5 square miles, down from 1 square mile previously.
"Today, we learned that the Florida Department of Health is investigating one new individual with non-travel related Zika in Pinellas County," sais Gov. Scott. "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. As we’ve seen in Wynwood, our aggressive mosquito control and public education efforts are working which is why DOH was able to clear a significant area in Wynwood today, bringing the total cleared area to 76 blocks. This means that we have now cleared half of the area in Wynwood where we believe ongoing active transmission of Zika is occurring. This is great news and we hope to continue reducing this area.
The DOH has begun door-to-door outreach and sampling in Pinellas County and mosquito abatement and reduction activities are also taking place.
The DOH still believes ongoing active transmission is only taking place within the small identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach in Miami-Dade County. More details will be announced when the Pinellas County investigation concludes.
