Local mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus have been found in Miami, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced Thursday. This is the first instance of native Zika-carrying mosquitoes to be found the United States; all previous cases of the disease were found to be linked to foreign travel.
Three mosquito samples from the Miami Beach area tested positive for Zika, a finding Florida's commissioner of agriculture called "disappointing, but not surprising." In response, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) announced he had requested that the state Department of Health "aggressively expand testing and outreach efforts," including aerial insecticide spraying via helicopter in Miami Beach:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'Himalayan Viagra': the world's most coveted fungusUnder the Radar Demand swells for cordyceps sinensis, prized for its medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities
-
Today's political cartoons - February 16, 2025Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - welcome mat, goodbye aid, and more
-
5 preposterously funny cartoons about Trump's plan for the Gaza RivieraCartoons Artists take on a new solution, a special operation, and more
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study findsSpeed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes riskSpeed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
