CDC, Florida probe possible Zika case from Miami mosquito

MIAMI — Health officials in Florida are investigating whether the Zika infection of a woman in the Miami area could be the first transmission of the virus from a mosquito bite in the continental United States.

The patient is an adult woman who lives in Miami-Dade County, according to a health official familiar with the case who wasn’t authorized to reveal details beyond the statements of the agencies involved, and thus spoke on condition of anonymity.

Health officials predicted the virus would reach U.S. mosquitoes this summer and have mobilized to keep Zika from spreading beyond isolated clusters of cases.

According to a CDC response plan, health officials would want to see more than just one unexplained case before declaring that someone has been infected by a mosquito bite in the continental United States.

Mosquito control inspectors in Miami have been going door-to-door in the area under investigation since health authorities alerted them late last week, spraying to kill mosquitoes and emptying containers of the water they need to breed.