Press Releases

MIAMI – Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) requested a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Emergency Response Team activation following 14 confirmed mosquito-borne Zika virus transmissions in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.

“Our community is under an international spotlight due to newly confirmed cases of mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus,” said Congresswoman Wilson. “It is important that we work together and immediately activate all resources in the fight to end the spread of Zika. To that end, I have been in communication with CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden to request the intervention of the CDC and I am coordinating efforts with Governor Rick Scott’s office and the Florida Department of Health to end the Zika threat. Our entire community must come together to end Zika.”

Zika infection during pregnancy can lead to severe birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that pregnant women and women thinking of becoming pregnant avoid non-essential travel to areas with active Zika transmission, which now includes Wynwood. This travel warning is unprecedented as it is the first time the CDC has warned people not to travel to an American neighborhood for fear of contracting an infectious disease.