Miami

New Miami Zika Zone Has Residents Concerned

With a new Miami-Dade transmission zone of the Zika virus comes growing concerns and a lot of questions, especially for parents.

"Just yesterday coming back from daycare she's just bitten up by mosquitoes," Martina Bryant said, speaking about her 4-month-old baby. "So it's like wow, it's really happening."

Bryant moved to a home on Northwest 5th Court, in the Little River community, back in February. The new Zika zone is right in her own back yard, and she's a little surprised.

"But what would you expect with it in Wynwood and Jumping to South Beach?" she said.

The transmission zone runs from Northwest 79th Street south to Northwest 63rd Street and from Northwest 10th Avenue east to North Miami Avenue. Mosquito control crews got an early start Friday morning in the one-square mile area just north of Little Haiti, going door to door inspecting properties.

In Bryant's backyard crews left containers. She says officials are collecting mosquitoes for testing to see if they are carrying the Zika virus. She's been asked not to touch the bins.

In the new Zika zone five people have been infected with the virus. Health officials say three live in the area and the other two work in or have visited. These new cases include two women and three men.

"We have many parks, many schools and many churches and many residential areas," Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said. "We are going to clean the sewers and the parks and all the streets but we need more information and resources."

Earlier this week, another non-travel related case was discovered in the City of Miami Beach. For the next month and a half officials say the area will go through another round of ground spraying. That zone stretches from 8th Street to 63rd Street.

Crews stress that Naled will not be sprayed from the trucks in Miami Beach. In certain parts of Miami Beach spraying will begin at midnight and go until 5 a.m.

In the new Zika zone officials are asking homeowners to alert crews of areas where there's standing water and where mosquitoes seem to be breeding by calling 311.

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