By Jacob Rodriguez and Jay Jacobs

Nine total cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Florida as of Tuesday, including six new cases just this week, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Florida has not been identified as an area of risk for the Zika virus by the Center for Disease Control, but the Florida Department of Health says they are closely monitoring the disease.

Of the confirmed cases, none are in northeast Florida. Four have been confirmed in Miami-Dade, two in Hillsborough, two in Lee and one in Santa Rosa county.

None of the cases that have been confirmed involve pregnant women, Florida Health officials say. Pregnant women with the Zika virus are at risk of birth defects like microcephaly, a deformity in newborns causing them to have an abnormally small head.

If the person sick with Zika virus is not pregnant, the efforts of the disease are generally mild, according to health officials.

The illness brings with it a rash, fever and joint pain.

Health officials encourage all Floridians and visitors to protect themselves from mosquitoes by draining standing water, covering their skin with repellant and clothing, covering windows with screens and other basic precautions.

All cases of Zika virus confirmed in Florida are considered travel-related.

Travel-related cases are defined as people sick with Zika virus that contracted it out of the state.

There are now 10 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in New York state, but all of those infections happened in Central and South America.

The mosquitoes are gone from New York for now, but you might need need to watch out for the virus if you're planning a tropical getaway this winter.

The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency in response to the Zika virus outbreak.

It has affected vacation destinations like Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.

Lewis County Public Health is advising women who are pregnant or want to get pregnant to postpone traveling to countries with the virus.

"We have several people in our community that travel to the Zika-affected countries either for vacations or mission work. We want to make sure that any pregnant woman is aware of the dangerous risks," said Marcia Ashline, Lewis County supervising public health nurse.

The virus is the suspected cause of severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil since May.

The main defect is microcephaly, which is when a newborn has a small head because of an underdeveloped brain.

"They haven't absolutely linked that together, but they are certainly seeing a rise in the microcephalic babies born to women who have been infected with the Zika virus," said Kit Purington, director of infection prevention at Samaritan Medical Center.

One type of mosquito carrying Zika can travel as far north as the New York City area.

The state plans on testing mosquito pools for Zika like it does for the West Nile and EEE viruses.

Symptoms of Zika are usually mild and include a fever, bumpy rash, joint pain and an eye infection.

The state Health Department is offering free advanced lab testing for anyone with symptoms who traveled to areas where Zika is active.