Report: Zika Found in Mosquitoes in the U.S. for First Time

zika virus
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Several media outlets are reporting that the Zika virus has been found in mosquitoes in Miami Beach, marking the first time mosquitoes in the U.S. have been found carrying the virus.

According to CNN, the three mosquito samples that tested positive were from the area in Miami Beach that was previously identified as an area of local transmission. Ninety-five other samples tested negative, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Also, Outbreak News Today is reporting that the Ministry of Health and Social Development confirmed five cases of the Zika virus in the British Virgin Islands last week. 

According to the report, three of the cases were tested locally and found to be positive and two cases were tested overseas and found to be positive as well. The cases were contracted in the Cane Garden Bay and Havers areas of Tortola, according to Outbreak News Today.

The local Zika transmission, which means that mosquitoes in the area are infected with Zika virus and are spreading it to people, prompted a travel notice issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the report.

The CDC also recently added the Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda and Turks and Caicos to its interim travel guidance related to the Zika virus in the Caribbean.

Those previously included the Caribbean islands and territories of Barbados; Bonaire; Aruba; Curacao; French Guiana; Cuba; Dominica; Belize; U.S. Virgin Islands; Martinique; Saba; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Guadeloupe; Puerto Rico; St. Maarten/St. MartinTrinidad and Tobago; Guyana; Haiti; Dominican Republic; Anguilla; St. Lucia; Grenada; St. Eustatius; Suriname; St. Barthelemy and Jamaica.

According to the CDC, many people infected with Zika virus do not get sick. Among those who do develop symptoms, sickness is usually mild, with symptoms that last for several days to a week. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare disorder that can cause muscle weakness and paralysis for a few weeks to several months, is very likely triggered by Zika in a small proportion of infections, much as it is after a variety of other infections. Most people fully recover from GBS, but some have permanent damage.

For the full Outbreak News Now report, click here and keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more updates on this story. Be sure to follow Travel Agent's Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike.