Miami Beach mosquitoes test positive for Zika virus

Aug. 9, 2016: A map showing the active Zika zone is on display at the Borinquen Health Care Center in Miami, Florida. (Reuters)

Florida officials confirmed Thursday that the Zika virus was detected in three mosquito samples from a small area in Miami Beach. The mosquitoes were in an area where officials had set up traps to investigate cases of local transmission of the virus.

“This find is disappointing, but not surprising,” Adam Putnam, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture said in a news release posted on the state’s department of agriculture and consumer services website. “Florida is among the best in the nation when it comes to mosquito surveillance and control, and this detection enables us to continue to effectively target our resources. Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Beach, and state and federal partners will continue to work aggressively to prevent the spread of Zika.”

The press release also said that 95 additional samples have been submitted by Miami-Dade County after the date of positive submission, and the mosquitoes tested negative for Zika.

"Miami Beach will continue to take a hardline in our fight against Zika," Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine said in the press release. "We are aggressively working to eliminate any and all potential mosquito breeding grounds. We are also working closely with our partners at the state and the county to ensure all resources are effectively deployed."

"Together we can contain and eliminate all cases of Zika," he said. "We need Congress to do its part to provide the necessary emergency resources to properly combat the spread of this virus."