TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than 300 people have been diagnosed with the Zika virus in Florida.
All of them, so far, contracted the disease traveling abroad, but state and federal health agencies are investigating what they believe may be the first two mosquito bite transmitted cases in the state.
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The state's Zika update showed 28 Florida counties have someone who has been infected with Zika. The list does not include the home county for 46 infected pregnant women. Those infected are in counties that make up the vast majority of Florida's 20 million residents.
Until now, all of the infected patients contracted Zika while traveling abroad. But while providing few details, the state acknowledged it is investigating what could be the first two non-travel-related cases in the state, one in Miami and another Broward County.
Documents given to the federal government showed it is two to three times more expensive to treat an area like this after a mosquito has infected someone with Zika than it is to get rid of the mosquitos beforehand.
What state health officials are looking at is unclear.
Glen Pourciau runs the mosquito control operation in the state Capitol.
”If there were a case, you would immediately go in and clear the area of mosquitoes. Is that right?” reporter Mike Vasilinda asked.
”Yes, that's the general plan," Pourciau said. "These mosquitoes tend to be weak fliers. They would travel usually 200 yards.”
In extreme cases, aerial spraying would be deployed.
"If we had multiple cases of locally transmitted, then the only way to respond, quickly enough, would be an aerial spraying program," Pourciau said.
Zika is usually transmitted by the bite of a mosquito, but it can also be spread through sex, blood transfusions or exposure in a laboratory.
Florida has been told it will soon receive an additional $5.6 million from the federal government to fight Zika. Calls and emails to the Department of Health asking how the money would be used and the status of the case under investigation went unanswered Thursday.