Officials request tourists not to limit travel to Florida due to Zika virus threats. (AFP Photo)
Florida mosquitoes have likely spread the Zika virus on the US mainland for the first time, and Republican US Sen Marco Rubio says the tourism-dependent state may face an economic crisis if visitors start canceling plans to come here.
But officials in Miami and Orlando caution against panic, and the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are no plans to recommend limiting travel to South Florida.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs says potential visitors to Florida shouldn't think twice about coming to the Sunshine State.
Jacob's jurisdiction covers the Orlando area's major theme parks in the Orlando area. She says Florida's theme parks have some of the best mosquito control measures in place that she knows of and that the parks are safe.