New Local Zika Infection Reported in Miami

— -- A new Zika infection has been reported in the ongoing outbreak in northern Miami.

The Florida Department of Health reported the new case today, bringing the total number of people infected in the outbreak to 16. The individual, who was diagnosed, was a close contact of two people previously diagnosed with the disease. Health department officials said that samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.

The health department emphasized that it still believes the only place with ongoing Zika infection is a square-mile area in northern Miami. Investigators from the Florida State Department of Health have been going door to door to test residents in the affected area to see if the virus is still being spread from infected mosquitoes.

Yesterday, aerial spraying of pesticide was started in Miami as way to cut down the mosquito population further.

This outbreak is the first time the disease has been spread in the continental U.S. through infected mosquitoes. Florida has by far the highest number of people diagnosed with Zika in the country, with at least 367 people diagnosed with the disease. Of those infected, 55 were pregnant women.