Jim Rosica
Yet another batch of mosquitoes in Miami Beach tested positive for the Zika virus.
The results were in the same location “where five other samples had previously tested positive,” the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced Saturday.
The latest positive sample of Aedes aeqypti mosquitoes was from a trap located on West 49th Street in Miami Beach, according to a news release.
The county’s Mosquito Control team “will continue to conduct inspections to reduce mosquito breeding and perform spray treatments as necessary in a 200-yard radius around the trap location,” the department said.
The Zika virus can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads.
Congress finally OK’ed $1.1 billion this week to fight the virus, after stalling out several times.
“We repeatedly called for months to get something done,” Gov. Rick Scott said on a teleconference. “This is all about pregnant women and making sure they have healthy babies.”
According to the Department of Health, there are now 948 documented cases of Zika infection in Florida and 15 active investigations. The department has done Zika testing on more than 8,500 people across the state.
The governor has pressed for a Zika vaccine, though experts say if they started now, one wouldn’t be ready for public use for several years.
