Zika Cases Still Being Recorded In Florida

The aedes aegypti mosquito is known to spread Zika virus, and is found in Florida.


State health officials say cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus are still being recorded in Florida. But there are fewer cases than the past couple years.
The Florida Department of Health’s website says there have been 59 recorded cases of Zika in 2018 so far. They’re all travel-related, meaning people got infected somewhere else.
The illness is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects.
By comparison, Florida had more than 250 reported cases statewide last year. And nearly 15-hundred cases in 2016.
Collier County has the highest number of cases in the state with 22.
WUSF is a partner with Health News Florida, a statewide collaborative reporting on health care.
Health reporting on WMFE is supported in part by AdventHealth.
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