As he gathered with local leaders in a Palm Beach County Health Department conference room Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott had breaking news: The state had its first case of a child being born with microcephaly, the small-head defect that is the curse of the Zika virus.
Scott's announcement at the meeting was nearly simultaneous with one by the Florida Department of Health.
Except to say the woman had come from Haiti to give birth, neither the agency nor Scott identified the woman or said in which county the child had been born. It hasn't done so with any of the 40 pregnant women in Florida who have contracted the Zika virus.
On Tuesday, Scott's surgeon general warned this first case of microcephaly — in which a baby's head is smaller than expected, and its brain might not fully develop — likely won't be the last.
"We would expect, based on what we've learned from other countries, that there will be other cases," Dr. Celeste Philip told reporters after she and Scott came Tuesday morning to the Health Department's downtown West Palm Beach headquarters to meet with about a dozen local elected officials and managers, and health and business leaders.
"This is a new experience for us," Dr. Philip told the meeting.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, microcephaly can lead to seizures, developmental delay, intellectual disability, feeding problems, hearing loss and vision problems. It is a lifelong condition without a cure.
Scott told the local officials: "Our job here is to find out what you are doing. Find out what you need from us. This is not just a Florida issue. This is a national emergency."
He said his office is in talks with the CDC and has asked the agency to do a conference call with health officials across the state.
And he was critical of the federal government, saying it didn't move fast enough to meet the crisis. He told reporters later, "The federal government, unfortunately, has not been a good partner," adding, "it's really disappointing that Congress and the President are not taking this seriously and getting something done."
Last week, Scott pledged to spend $26.2 million in state money on response and prevention efforts.
Scott's comments Tuesday about Washington did not specifically include Tuesday's action in the U.S. Senate, in which Democrats blocked a Republican proposal to provide $1.1 billion to fight Zika after faulting the GOP for packing the measure with restrictions on Planned Parenthood money and changes to policies on pesticide spraying.
Scott's eyes also were on the calendar, with Florida well into both the rainy season and hurricane season.
"We're going to have rain," Scott said. "We've got to get rid of all the standing water."
Gary Goode, mosquito control supervisor for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, noted that Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries Zika, is different from its more common counterparts. He said it breeds in containers of standing water rather than in lakes and canals, and "for that reason it's actually a simpler problem. This is a mosquito that relies on man-made objects. You get rid of the objects like standing water, you get rid of the mosquito."
He also said the insect is less aggressive, and weaker, than other breeds, so much so that it has the nickname of "ankle biter."
Palm Beach County Health Department Director Dr. Alina Alonso also noted that the disease doesn't pass from human to human except via sex. And, she said, 80 percent of infected people will show either no symptoms or symptoms not unusual enough for them to report.
"A rash, a mild fever, a little achy," she said. "Chances are you are not going to do anything about it. You're not going to get tested."
In the meeting, Alonso and County Administrator Verdenia Baker said the county's utilities department has inserted information cards in water bills. West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio said her city will distribute the cards in its bills as well.
Muoio, who said her own daughter was struck by dengue fever, another mosquito-borne illness, said her doctor has told her of pregnant patients terrified about contracting the disease and passing it to their unborn children.
Baker also said the county is posting information reminder signs at Palm Beach International Airport and is spreading the word to hoteliers to pass on prevention tips to their guests.
"We're definitely talking it up in our community," Baker told the governor.
Manuel Almira, executive director of the Port of Palm Beach, asked for information cards for cruise ship passengers using the port.
Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie said that, as incoming president of the Florida League of Cities, Zika is "high on my radar." She also asked if the Florida Department of Transportation can add Zika warnings and tips to the information it rotates on its roadside electronic signs.
Before the roundtable, Scott met privately with some elected officials. The meeting wasn't subject to public meetings laws because no two elected officials of the same body participated.
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