The U.S. coastal state of Florida, home to popular tourist destinations like Walt Disney World, on Friday identified a second Zika transmission area in Miami, a development that signals a local spread of the virus and prompted federal officials to issue a new travel advisory immediately.

Florida Governor Rick Scott announced in a statement that state officials have confirmed five individuals as cases of local transmissions of Zika in the tourist-attracting Miami Beach area.

"This is the second area that has been identified as a location where local transmission is occurring and is just under 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers)," he said.

Previously, Florida health officials believed that local Zika transmission was limited to a small area in north Miami, called Wynwood.

So far, Florida is the only U.S. state that has reported local Zika transmission by mosquitoes. The total number of local Zika cases in the state is 36.

Scott said he has directed state officials to provide educational materials and offer mosquito spraying at no cost to hotels, restaurants and attractions to fight Zika.

"Tourism is a driving force of our economy and this industry has the full support of our state in the fight against the Zika virus," he said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quickly issued a new travel advisory, telling pregnant women to avoid the designated area of Miami Beach, in addition to Wynwood.

"We're in the midst of mosquito season and expect more Zika infections in the days and months to come," said CDC Director Tom Frieden. "It's difficult but important that pregnant women make every effort to avoid mosquito bites and avoid going to areas where Zika is spreading."

Frieden said that it's difficult to predict how long active transmission will continue and that it's possible that other neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County, where both Wynwood and Miami Beach are located, have active Zika transmission that is not yet apparent.

As of August 17, 2,260 cases of Zika had been reported in the continental United States and Hawaii, including 529 in pregnant women, according to the CDC. These cases also included 22 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure.

Source : XINHUA