CDC Issues Zika Travel Advisory For Miami

WLRN 91.3 FM | By Sammy Mack

Published August 1, 2016 at 3:22 PM EDT

A Miami-Dade County mosquito control worker sprays around a home in the Wynwood area of Miami on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.

Pregnant women are being asked to stay away from Wynwood.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Zika-related travel warning for pregnant women to an area just north of Downtown Miami.

Health officials have identified at least 14 apparently mosquito-borne Zika infections, 12 of which are in a small area in and nearWynwood.

"The bottom line of this announcement is that we advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area and pregnant women who live or work in this area and their partners to make every effort to avoid mosquito bites and to prevent sexual transmission ofZika," said Dr. TomFrieden, head of the CDC, in a press call on Monday afternoon.

Frieden also said any pregnant women who live in or have traveled to the area since June15thshould talk to their doctors about getting screened for the disease.

Exposure to Zika virus during pregnancy has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development. Florida has already reported one baby born with the condition after the mother contracted the virus during a trip abroad.

According to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), there are currently 55 casesin the state involving pregnant women and 333 cases in total.