Hoosiers warned in traveling to Florida areas where mosquito-borne Zika detected

The travel advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month cautions pregnant women and their partners to avoid or limit visits to Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, where Zika is now being spread by mosquitos. Couples who have visited the area and are thinking about getting pregnant have been advised to wait and talk to their health care provider.

“The CDC ban on travel in the continental United States is limited to two neighborhoods in the Miami area,” said Andy Stafford, Medical Director for Women’s Health in Bloomington, Bedford and Martinsville for IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians. “Patients can be advised to avoid travel to areas where the virus is known to be present. If travel cannot be avoided, then, the best approach is to use sprays and clothing to avoid mosquito bites and to stay indoors when possible.”

The 15 Florida cases are the first known locally transmitted cases — from mosquito to person — in the United States. According to a July news release, most of the 1,658 U.S. cases reported to CDC as of July 27 occurred when individuals traveled to non-U.S. areas where the virus was present. People also can transmit Zika through sexual contact, which the CDC linked to 15 of these cases.

Since the beginning of international epidemic in 2015, there have been 23 cases among Indiana residents — all involving people who traveled outside the country to areas of active Zika virus transmission, according to Jennifer Brown, Indiana State Department of Health public health veterinarian.