Zika outbreak: Miami Beach mosquitoes test positive

Some mosquitoes in Miami Beach have tested positive for Zika,Florida officials say, marking the first time the virus has been found in groups ofmosquitoes in the continental U.S.

Florida's Agriculture Department said Thursday that the virus was detected in three mosquito samples from a small area in Miami Beach, and authorities are blaming a particular flower for making mosquito control much more difficult..

"This find is disappointing, but not surprising," the state's agriculture commissioner,Adam Putnam, said in a release.

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The number of non-travel-related Zika infections in humans has increased to 47 in Miami-Dade County since the first case was identified just over a month ago.

"This is the first time we have found a Zika virus positive mosquito pool in the continental United States," said Erin Sykes, a CDC spokeswoman.

The surveillance tests were conducted as part of an investigation byFlorida's Health Department into local transmission of the virus.

It saysmore than 2,470 mosquito sampleshave been tested since May, and these three were the first to test positive.

One of the traps that tested positive was at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, where bromeliads bloom. The plants trap standing water in their cylindrical centres, providing excellent breeding areas for mosquitoes amid their colourful flowers and pointy leaves.

"Everyone should know by now that bromeliads are really problematic for us. These are probably the number one breeding area for mosquitoes," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

He said Miami Beach is removing all bromeliads from its landscaping, and urged residents across the county to either pull them out or rinse them after every rain.

Health officials say mosquito control is a key way to stem the outbreak, along with educating people about limiting their exposure to the insects.

Finding the virus in mosquitoes could help to target mosquito control efforts and confirms the insects are spreading the infection as suspected.

The illness spreads from people to mosquitoes to people again through bites, but the insects do not spread the disease to each other and theirlifespanis just a few weeks.

Hurricane could complicate spraying

Hurricane Hermine, set to causeflooding and damage when it hits Florida overnight, could complicate efforts to fight Zika in Florida, experts in infectious diseases andmosquitoes said.

Once the hurricanepasses, the remaining water will provide breeding sites for mosquitoes, said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine inNashville.

"People around their homes will be worried about themselvesand their families and neighbours rather than looking for
mosquito breeding sites," Schaffner said. "Emergency responderswill be focused on things other than mosquito abatement."

High winds from the hurricane couldalso prevent aerial sprayingwith pesticides to keep mosquito populations down, said Joseph Conlon,a retired U.S. Navy entomologist who serves as technical adviserfor the American Mosquito Control Association.

Elsewhere on Thursday,China intensified itschecks on people and goods arriving from Singapore,as an outbreak of the Zika virus in the small city-state wasconfirmed to have spread to at least one person in neighbouringMalaysia.

Singapore warnings

The government said earlier that about half of the cases it was discovering were foreigners, mainly from China, Indiaand Bangladesh, and most had already recovered. Many of them arebelieved to be among the hundreds of thousands of migrantworkers in Singapore's construction and marine industries.

The virus, which has spread through the Americas andthe Caribbean since late last year, is generally a mild diseasebut has been linked to microcephaly a severe birth defect inwhich babies are born with abnormally small heads andunderdeveloped brains.

Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus tohumans, though a small number of cases of sexual transmission ofthe virus have been reported in the Americas.

There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a closecousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash andred eyes.An estimated 80 per cent of people infected have nosymptoms.