Six new travel-related cases of the Zika virus were confirmed in Florida this week, according to the Florida Dept. of Health.
That brings the total number of cases in the state to nine:
- Miami-Dade - 4 cases
- Hillsborough - 2 cases
- Lee - 2 cases
- Santa Rosa - 1 case
None of the confirmed cases involve pregnant women.
The Centers for Disease Control has not identified Florida as an area of local Zika risk. However, the state is closely monitoring the disease.
Zika, a mosquito-borne illness, usually involves a rash, fever and joint pain. However, the CDC is examining a possible link between the virus and health issues in babies exposed during pregnancy.
Florida has the ability to test for Zika infections. DOH is working with health care workers to make sure patients can be tested based on CDC criteria.
Health officials: Zika spread through sexual contact
Health officials say a patient in Dallas County, Texas, has acquired the Zika virus through sex.
Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday it received confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a country where Zika was present.
The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites. Investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. It was found in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008.
Health officials note there are no reports of Zika being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas County.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.