Zika Outbreak Reported in Florida: How Did it Get There in the First Place?

One would normally attribute the Zika virus to places such in South America, particularly somewhere like Brazil. Unfortunately however, the Zika vius is currently making its way to other parts of the world and according to recent reports has found its way to Florida where a pregnant woman suffering as a result of contracting the life-threatening virus alerted officials of its existence there.

Reports from the Wall Street Journal state that the pregnant victim does not have any direct connection with anyone from the neighborhood pinpointed as the epicenter of the outbreak in Florida. She also has not traveled to any places with a Zika scare in the past few months neither has she had any sexual encounters with a person who may have contracted the virus themselves. The last claim maybe put into question as she is currently pregnant.

A certain portion of Miami has been deemed as the place of origin of the virus in Florida and the first case of Zika in the Keys area has also just been reported. The main difference is that the case in the Keys has been confirmed as travel-related, with the patient recently coming back from a trip to a place where she was infected. Details about the case have largely been kept under wraps as of now.

"Statewide [in Florida], there were 369 confirmed Zika cases as of Tuesday that don't involve pregnant women. There were an additional 57 that did," says an official report from the New York Times. The U.S. FDA has already approved a test program regarding the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Key Haven. The purpose of this test program is to hopefully reduce the population of the Aedis aegypti or the Zika-carrying mosquitoes. These mosquitoes can also carry other viruses, most notably the deadly dengue fever.