Zika travel warning issued for Miami neighborhood

MIAMI: Zika fears prompted US health authorities on Monday to issue a travel warning for a small section of Miami where local mosquitoes have spread the virus to 14 people, officials said.

"We advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Tom Frieden, noting that the virus can cause the birth defect, microcephaly.



The area is a one-mile section north of downtown Miami, a popular arts and restaurant district known as Wynwood.

Women who are pregnant and may have traveled to the area since June 15 are urged to talk with their doctor, Frieden added.

Women who are pregnant in the area are also urged to use barrier protection during sex, or to abstain in order to lower the risk of transmission from a partner.

He also recommended people use mosquito repellant, wear long sleeves, repair screens and drain any standing water in the area to prevent the spread of the mosquitoes.

On Friday, Florida officials announced the first locally transmitted cases of Zika in the United States with all four linked to the same area in Miami.

Early Monday, Governor Rick Scott said the number of identified cases had jumped by 10 to 14.

Zika is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and also by sexual contact.