--- title: Zika Virus: Florida Is Looking Into Local Transmission description: Health officials in Florida are investigating a non-travel associated case of the Zika virus. canonical: https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-20T14:35:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:23:31.525Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika: Florida is Investigating Possible Local Infection og:description: Health officials in Florida are investigating a non-travel associated case of the Zika virus. og:url: https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f68884ab1c1b9d/69889cbd656a3f6595bcc5bf/zikaaaaa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mosquito sucking blood on a human hand og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika: Florida is Investigating Possible Local Infection twitter:description: Health officials in Florida are investigating a non-travel associated case of the Zika virus. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f68884ab1c1b9d/69889cbd656a3f6595bcc5bf/zikaaaaa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Zika: Florida Is Investigating Possible Local Infection by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 20, 2016 2:35 PM CUT  Aedes mosquito have noticeable white and black on their body and legs Aedes mosquito have noticeable white and black on their body and legsGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 20, 2016 2:35 PM CUT Florida is investigating a case of [Zika](http://time.com/4318624/zika-virus-and-birth-defects-what-you-need-to-know/ "undefined") virus that may have been transmitted locally, the state’s health department has [announced](http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2016/07/071916-investigating-possible-non-travel-related-case-zika.html "undefined"). The Florida Department of Health says it’s looking into a non-travel associated case of the virus in the Miami-Dade County region. The health department, which is collaborating with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), did not provide details about the person infected. The agency says it will be distributing Zika prevention kits and repellant intended for pregnant women. A Zika infection is riskier for pregnant women because the virus can cause severe birth defects in fetuses and infants. [(See what women need to know about the Zika virus](http://time.com/4304583/what-every-woman-need-to-know-about-zika/ "undefined")). The department says it has been doing mosquito control and prevention in the area. Elsewhere, in Utah, health officials are [also investigating a unique Zika infection](http://time.com/4410890/zika-infection-utah/ "undefined"). A person who cared for a family contact who died with especially high amounts of Zika became infected, despite not traveling to an affected country. Currently, Zika is only known to be transmitted by mosquito bites or sex with an infected person. The White House requested $1.9 billion in funding in February for Zika; the Senate [failed to pass emergency Zika funding](http://time.com/4406114/zika-funding-bill-fails-as-congress-is-unable-to-reach-compromise/ "undefined") before going on a recess until September. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/"},"headline":"Zika: Florida Is Investigating Possible Local Infection","datePublished":"2016-07-20T14:35:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:23:31.525Z","description":"Health officials are investigating a case of the virus that isn't related to travel","url":"https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/","keywords":["Zika","Florida","Mosquitoes","Zika virus"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f68884ab1c1b9d/69889cbd656a3f6595bcc5bf/zikaaaaa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f68884ab1c1b9d/69889cbd656a3f6595bcc5bf/zikaaaaa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mosquito sucking blood on a human hand","caption":"Mosquito sucking blood on a human hand","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/zika/","name":"Zika"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4414677/zika-virus-florida/","name":"Zika: Florida Is Investigating Possible Local Infection"}}]}] ```