(NYtimes) The Florida Department of Health said Tuesday that it was investigating what could be the first homegrown case of the Zika virus in the United States.
The department said in a statement that it was investigating a “possible non-travel-related” case in Miami-Dade County. The department is “actively conducting an epidemiological investigation” and is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the statement said. No further details were available.
It would be the first time the Zika virus had been transmitted locally by mosquitoes in the United States. There are about 1,300 cases of Zika in the continental United States; nearly all were contracted by a mosquito bite abroad or through sex with someone who had become infected in another country.
The virus, which has spread rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean, can cause birth defects and brain damage in babies born to women infected with it during pregnancy.
The C.D.C. said in a statement that public health officials in Florida had confirmed the Zika infection through laboratory testing. The agency said it would conduct additional laboratory testing if the state asked for it.
Fuente: www.nytimes.com
