Florida shmlorida. Zika spreads easily, is frequently without symptoms, and both sex and mosquitos will not disappear. Inevitably, zika will spread across most of the US and anywhere in the world where Aedes mosquitoes live and wherever people have sex.

Once enough people have had zika, herd immunity will stop the pandemic. The only thing that can change these fully predictable occurrences would be the universal use of an effective vaccine. That will take much more money than has been appropriated and more time than we have.

I personally would not be comfortable with the risk reward ratio. Is a few days vacation worth the risk of a lifetime caring for a child when it could have been avoided. I am proactive with bug spray and they still manage to sneak in for a nibble.

New evidence is showing that even people who contract zika but have only mild effects can have lasting effects (it's way too soon to tell what they may be). Also the now know it can be spread via sex even when the person is not having zika symptoms.

It appears the only "cure" will be developing a vaccine and giving it to people who live in or travel in places where the mosquitos carry it. At the moment in the US this appears to be only parts of FL, but who knows where that will be by next summer.

So we need to get congress to fund the CDC vaccine development before this becomes the kind of problem Lyme disease is.

Actually, Zika is not likely to spread contiguously only. A zika infected person flies to, say, Long Island during mosquito season and starts a focus there. Florida contiguity not required. With airline travel, the whole world is contiguous.

A box of oranges could carry unhatched eggs to NY. It will be everywhere soon enough. So much they don't know yet.

I don't know enough about it but apparently it isn't - or hasn't - been picked up by the type of mosquitoes that are common in more northern areas. But perhaps it's just that they haven't had a chance to pick it up yet.

I'm long past the age of being worried about pregnancy, but IMHO if I were or planning it I would talk to my MD about this is detail.

NYC is still heavily spraying for all mosquitoes - apparently not possible in South Beach due to the high rises and prevailing winds.

nyt, you're right, range is key to understanding Zika's spread:
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/range.html

Of course, Aedes albopictus could start spreading Zika, or it could just dig in as an STD.

< I'm just struggling with how it's been generalised that you should put off visiting if it's not of urgent nature to the whole of the state when it's just active within a mile.>

Well, today it's been found locally transmitted in Pinellas County, just down the road from me and closer to Orlando, although it is not yet clear if it was mosquito-transmitted.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politic...county/2290623