Zika virus: Florida officials investigating 4 non-travel-related cases

Investigators are still working to determine if the virus was transmitted by mosquitoes

Reuters

Florida health officials are investigating four cases of the Zika virus that are believed to be unrelated to travel, solidifying concerns that the virus is taking hold in the United States.

The Florida Department of Health reported on Wednesday that it had recorded two new cases that were not related to travel - making four in total. Officials have not yet determined how the diseases were transmitted, but have not completely ruled out the possibility that mosquitoes carrying Zika have arrived in the country.

To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Zika is not being spread by mosquitoes in the continental US – although some with potential to carry the disease have been located in certain regions.

In addition to mosquito bites, Zika is also transmitted via sex with an infected person and can also be passed from mother to child during pregnancy. Health officials have confirmed the link between the virus and microcephaly in newborns.

Some 1,400 people in the US have reported travel-related infections with the Zika virus. Most of the reports have come from people who traveled to regions in Latin America or the Caribbean where the virus has reached crisis proportions.

Brazil has been hit the hardest with the Zika virus, casting a shadow of worry that the upcoming Olympics will spark a global epidemic.

More than 200 health professionals wrote an open letter urging Brazilian officials to cancel or postpone the Games in Rio de Janeiro. The letter cited the World Health Organisation’s declaration of Zika as a “public health emergency of international concern”.

However, new research from the Yale School of Public Health suggests that the Zika virus will not impact the Olympics in Rio as dramatically as previously thought.

Of the 500,000 people expected to travel to Brazil in August, only 80 or fewer will be infected by Zika. Between three and 37 are expected to bring the virus back to their countries.