Florida reports six new cases of Zika virus, including three in Miami-Dade

Florida health officials confirmed six new cases of Zika virus infection on Thursday, including three in Miami-Dade County, one in Broward and two in Osceola County in Central Florida.

Statewide, Florida has confirmed 58 cases of Zika virus infection since the state’s health department began counting on Feb. 9. Miami-Dade has reported the greatest number of cases with 27 people affected, and Broward is second with eight cases.

The number of confirmed Zika infections in Florida among pregnant women, considered to be at greatest risk of the virus, remains at four. Pregnant women are at risk because of a strongly suspected link between an outbreak of Zika in Brazil and a concurrent spike in microcephaly.

Florida’s first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus was confirmed this week when state health officials reported two new Zika virus infections in Polk County in Central Florida, including one case that was sexually transmitted from someone who had traveled outside the country. The Florida Department of Health wouldn’t say whether the cases are related, but the report marked the first locally transmitted infection of Zika virus.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between Jan. 1 and March 9 there were 193 reported cases of Zika virus in the U.S.

In known cases of likely sexual transmission, the CDC said the men had Zika symptoms. It is not known whether a woman can transmit Zika to sex partners. The CDC advises men who might have been exposed to Zika to consider abstaining or using a condom.

But the virus can be spread before, during and after men have symptoms, which can include rash, joint pain, fever and red eyes typically lasting seven to 10 days.

Zika is primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito bites, although the spread of the virus also has been reported through blood transfusions.

A previous version of this article misstated the number of new Zika cases reported in Osceola County.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Florida reports six new cases of Zika virus, including three in Miami-Dade."