TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ Florida health officials say they’ve confirmed the first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus in the state.
Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong’s office announced Wednesday that two new cases of Zika had been confirmed in Polk County.
Officials say one case was travel-related and in the other case, the virus was sexually transmitted from an individual who had been traveling outside the country.
Zika is mainly transmitted through bites from the mosquito species that also spreads dengue and chikungunya.
But the World Health Organization now says sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously thought.
Health officials urge men who have been to outbreak areas to abstain from unprotected sex.
Florida has confirmed 52 cases of Zika, all travel-related. The vast majority have been in Miami-Dade County.