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‘Travel-Related’ Zika Cases Creep Toward 1,000

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
WMFE
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

State health officials Wednesday reported six new "travel related" cases of the Zika virus, as the total number of such cases neared 1,000.

In travel-related cases, people are infected with the mosquito-borne virus elsewhere and then bring it into Florida. Three of the new cases were in Orange County, two were in Miami-Dade County, and one was in Lee County, according to information posted on the state Department of Health website.

In all, Florida has had 1,259 reported cases of Zika, with 992 classified as travel related. Zika is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. As of Wednesday, the state had reported 193 cases involving pregnant women.