Gov. Rick Scott declared the Wynwood area of downtown Miami Zika-free on Monday, but the Centers for Disease Control was more cautious in saying the virus was finished spreading, lifting the travel ban for pregnant women going to the area.
“When we announced Wynwood as the first place in our nation to have local transmission of the Zika virus, Wynwood was immediately sent into the national spotlight,” Scott said in a statement. “Over the past few weeks, Floridians have worked together to prevent the spread of mosquitoes, take proper precautions to protect one another, and support local businesses in Wynwood. We saw the success of this hard work each time we announced a reduction of the zone in Wynwood, and we see it clearly today now that the entire Wynwood zone has been lifted.”
The Wynwood area was the first section of Miami where active transmission began occurring in August. According to Scott, it has been 45 days since the local community recorded an instance of the virus in the Wynwood area.
Local transmission caused the state and the Centers for Disease Control to create a boxed area of the Wynwood region where officials said the virus was spreading.
The CDC lifted that zone Monday, but did not explicitly say the virus had completed spreading, instead urging visitors to be cautious when traveling through the area. The CDC also warned pregnant women and their partners to consider postponing “nonessential travel” to all parts of Miami-Dade County.
The CDC also expanded its warning to all pregnant women in the United States to make sure they are evaluated for the Zika virus during each prenatal care visit. Zika is often asymptomatic for about 80 percent of infected patients and can cause birth defects if pregnant women are infected.
CDC Director Tom Frieden said the agency had been hard at work in conjunction with Florida officials in spraying for the virus.
”We understand that this has been a difficult time for Wynwood residents and visitors,” he said. “We’ve reached this point because of the tremendous progress with mosquito control in the affected area, including the combination of aerial application of the larvicide Bti and the adulticide Naled, and rigorous investigation of possible Zika infections by Florida health officials.”
But Frieden urged the public to be careful, saying Florida might not be out of the woods just yet.
“Still, we encourage people not to let down their guard,” Frieden explained. “We could see additional cases.”
The fight against Zika rages on in other parts of Miami. On Friday, officials expanded the affected area in Miami Beach to an area of about 4.5 miles. Scott also committed to an additional $10 million in state funding on top of $26 million used to fight the virus in Florida.
National lawmakers have yet to agree on a funding solution for the virus and have been involved in a back-and-forth over funding since the spring.
Congress must create a solution for Zika by Oct. 1.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
