Two new Zika infections in Miami-Dade raise countywide total to 19 cases

Two new Zika virus infections were confirmed in Miami-Dade on Tuesday, raising the number of cases in the county to 19 people.

Statewide, there have been 44 confirmed cases of Zika virus infection, state health officials reported, including six in Broward County.

All of Florida’s confirmed cases of Zika virus infection were acquired by people while traveling outside of the country, the Department of Health reported. Of the confirmed cases in Florida, only four people are still exhibiting symptoms, state health officials said.

Among the state’s confirmed Zika infections are four pregnant women. The health department is not identifying the county where the pregnant women live for privacy reasons, nor is the agency stating where the women traveled.

However, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Zika virus infection was reported among women who had traveled to one or more of the following nine areas with ongoing local transmission: American Samoa, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Samoa.

Pregnant women are considered to be at greatest risk from the virus because of a strongly suspected link between an outbreak of Zika in Brazil and a concurrent spike in microcephaly, a condition in which a newborn’s head is smaller than expected, which can lead to developmental issues.

Florida has more confirmed Zika cases than any other state, according to the CDC, which has reported 107 cases in the continental United States as of Feb. 24.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Two new Zika infections in Miami-Dade raise countywide total to 19 cases."