MIAMI, FLA. -- The Miami Herald is running a Zika Virus Tracker on its website to show how the virus is spreading throughout the state.
Miami-Dade County contains the bulk of locally transmitted cases, including six new cases reported yesterday. Various Florida counties are managing cases of travel-related Zika virus.
Instances of the Zika virus first appeared in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties on January 18, 2016. The World Health Organization issued an international public health emergency on February 1st with the disease spreading rapidly through the Carribbean and South America.
News about the spread of Zika virus in Florida reached fever pitch when the Florida Department of Health confirmed two local cases on July 29th.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread the virus, but it can also be transmitted through sex and blood transfusions. Symptoms include include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. Zika virus in pregnant women causes the microcephaly birth defect.
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