As summer officially started Wednesday, Florida has had 84 reported Zika infections this year — with the vast majority of them classified as “travel related,” according to information posted online by the state Department of Health.
The 84 cases included 65 that were travel related, meaning people were infected elsewhere and brought the mosquito-borne disease into the state. Four cases involved people infected locally, while 15 involved people who were tested in 2017 after undetermined exposures to the disease last year, according to the Department of Health.
Zika is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. With the summer bringing its typical wet weather, health officials are continuing to advise people to drain standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
Also, Feeding Florida, a statewide network of food banks, announced this week that food banks are holding a series of events across the state to distribute mosquito repellant. Feeding Florida said the company SC Johnson donated the Off! repellant.
