Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
More mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus have been found in the Miami Beach area.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced Friday it detected Zika in one mosquito sample from a small area in Miami Beach. The mosquito sample was located in the same area where four other samples tested positive for Zika.
Miami-Dade County submitted 375 additional mosquito samples since the first positive mosquito poll was discovered. Those 375 mosquito samples tested negative for Zika.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the positive pool was collected in Miami Beach within the current zone that has been treated for local transmission.
There were 823 cases of Zika infections in Florida as of Thursday. According to the Department of Health, 77 of those were locally transmitted cases and 86 involved pregnant women. The Florida Department of Health noted 10 of those were “out-of-state cases,” or not Florida residents.
The DOH is conducting 20 active investigations, and is continuing door-to-door outreach and targeted testing in Pinellas, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties. State health officials said they still believe transmissions are occurring in two Miami-Dade communities — Wynwood and Miami Beach.
The Department of Agriculture’s announcement came just hours after Gov. Rick Scott announced he was setting aside $10 million to fight the spread of Zika. So far this year, Scott has allocated $36.2 million for the program.
The money will pay for mosquito surveillance and abatement; training for mosquito control workers; boosting laboratory capacity; and buying Zika prevention kits, Scott announced.
The announcement also came just days after Scott traveled to Washington, D.C. to push lawmakers to pass a $1.9 billion funding package to combat the spread of Zika. He met with legislative leaders including House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and members of Florida’s congressional delegation to press for Zika funding.
“It’s hard to believe they’re not focused on this,” said Scott during a press conference Friday. “We’ve got to take care of our pregnant women and their babies.”
