Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a health emergency Wednesday after nine cases of Zika virus were detected in the state.
Health officials believe that each Florida case of the mosquito-borne virus was contracted while traveling overseas in effected countries, according to the Associated Press. Florida’s emergency extends to four counties—Miami-Dade, Lee, Hillsborough and Santa Rosa. Southern Florida, especially Miami, has a close connection with South America, where the virus is prevalent.
The Zika virus has become a global health scare after it was linked to brain deformities in babies. The virus is spread by mosquito bites and has mainly been contained to South America, but cases have appeared in the U.S. and health officials in Dallas, Texas confirmed one person became infected by Zika after sexual contact. That incident is the first case of the virus being transmitted in the United States.
- How to Help Victims of the Texas School Shooting
- TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2022
- What the Buffalo Tragedy Has to Do With the Effort to Overturn Roe
- Column: The U.S. Failed Miserably on COVID-19. Canada Shows It Didn't Have to Be That Way
- N.Y. Will Soon Require Businesses to Post Salaries in Job Listings. Here's What Happened When Colorado Did It
- The 46 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2022
- ‘We Are in a Moment of Reckoning.’ Amanda Nguyen on Taking the Fight for Sexual Violence Survivors to the U.N.
