The number of travel associated Zika virus cases in the state of Florida increased by another 11 today as the Florida Department of Health reported additional cases in Broward (3), Orange (3), Miami-Dade (2), Hillsborough (1), Osceola (1) and the first case to date in Lake County.
For Hillsborough County, this is the sixth cases recorded.
The state total has grown significantly in recent weeks with the total travel associated cases now at 263, including 43 cases involving pregnant women regardless of symptoms.
There have been 26 counties included in the Declaration of Public Health Emergency– Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia.
On June 28, the department announced the first confirmed case of microcephaly in an infant born in Florida whose mother had a travel-related case of Zika. The mother of the infant contracted Zika while in Haiti.
According to CDC, Zika illness is generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain. CDC researchers have concluded that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other birth defects.
