Fla. officials confirm year's first case of sexually transmitted Zika

Florida health officials have confirmed a case of sexually transmitted Zika in Pinellas County, a first for the state in 2017.

The infected individual had no history of travel but the person's sexual partner had recently traveled to Cuba and was sick with symptoms of Zika, health officials said. Both individuals tested positive for Zika.

Mosquito control has taken appropriate actions to reduce the mosquito population in that area, according to the state.

Health officials said that there have been no locally acquired Zika cases in Florida via infected mosquitoes so far this year.

"There is no evidence of transmission through mosquitoes taking place anywhere in Florida," the state health department stated in a news release, in underlined and bold letters.

In 2016, Florida was the first state in the country to confirm a locally acquired Zika case. This year, the first local case in the nation was confirmed in Texas in July.

©2017 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)
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