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Zika virus is most commonly spread through mosquito bites.(Photo: Special to The News-Press)
FORT MYERS, Fla. —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Florida Department of Health<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has confirmed two cases of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika virus<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Lee County, bringing the state's number of such infections to nine.
Health officials say all the affected<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Floridians, including the two in Lee County, were infected in Colombia, El Salvador,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Haiti<span style="color: Red;">*</span>or<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Venezuela. It was not clear from the released information where the Lee County residents were infected.
Others Florida cases<span style="color: Red;">*</span>include four<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Miami-Dade County<span style="color: Red;">*</span>residents, two from Hillsborough County<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and one from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Santa Rosa County.
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Zika, which is most commonly spread by mosquito bites but may be sexually transmitted, has alarmed global health agencies because of its suspected link to birth defects in Brazil. The virus usually causes several days of mild symptoms, including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
The World Health Organization has declared this season's Zika outbreak<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a "public health emergency."
None of Florida's confirmed Zika cases involve pregnant women, the health department reported.
"Florida has many years of success in containing other mosquito-borne diseases and emerging health threats," said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Dr. John Armstrong, the state's surgeon general and secretary of health, in a written statement Tuesday. "Through these experiences, the department remains ready to protect residents and visitors from the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika virus."
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Zika virus not causing outbreaks in continental U.S.
On Tuesday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Texas public health officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>identified<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the first U.S.-based<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika infection transmitted through sexual contact. That person became infected after having sex with a partner who had recently<span style="color: Red;">*</span>returned from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Venezuela.
Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, an urologist with Orlando Health, said Zika's spread through sex is worrying because only 1<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in 5<span style="color: Red;">*</span>infected people show symptoms of the virus. And most such symptoms are mild, Brahmbhatt said.
"I think it is definitely something to be concerned about, because Zika is spreading rapidly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— not only here in Florida but throughout the entire U.S. and the world," he said. His recommendations to patients getting ready to travel to such areas:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Just be smart. You just have to use precautions as with any sexually transmitted disease."
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Health Department<span style="color: Red;">*</span>advisories about the virus have urged<span style="color: Red;">*</span>residents and visitors to Florida to employ traditional tactics to protect themselves from mosquitoes:
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Drain<span style="color: Red;">*</span>water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Discard<span style="color: Red;">*</span>old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren't being used.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Empty<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and clean<span style="color: Red;">*</span>birdbaths and pet's water bowls at least once or twice a week.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Protect<span style="color: Red;">*</span>boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Maintain<span style="color: Red;">*</span>swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. That includes emptying<span style="color: Red;">*</span>plastic swimming pools when not in use.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Use<span style="color: Red;">*</span>insect repellent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>IR3535.
Shelly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Redovan, spokeswoman for the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Lee County Mosquito Control District, said normal precautions should offer enough protection, even for pregnant women and those thinking about getting pregnant.
"It should not be something they should panic<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about," Redovan said. "Just be aware and just be a little cautious."
Zika was not identified in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Western Hemisphere<span style="color: Red;">*</span>until May 2015, when the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pan American Health Organization<span style="color: Red;">*</span>issued alerts about cases in Brazil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The CDC has since<span style="color: Red;">*</span>issued advisories<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for people planning to travel to countries where Zika transmissions are ongoing, including:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Puerto Rico.
Pregnant women are advised to postpone travel to these and other affected countries. Women trying to get pregnant should speak with their doctors before any such trips, the CDC said.
Patients exhibiting symptoms and have traveled to Zika-affected regions are tested for the virus. The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>CDC's Arbovirus Diagnostic Laboratory confirms such results, though Florida's public health laboratory can test for infections if patients meet testing criteria.
Follow Frank Gluck on Twitter: @FrankGluck
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