Gov. Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in four counties on Wednesday after at least nine cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus were detected in Florida. Health officials say that they believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the disease while traveling to affected countries. “We have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state,” Scott said in a statement. “We know that we must be prepared for the worst even as we hope for the best.” Scott signed the order to cover Miami-Dade, Lee, Hillsborough and Santa Rosa counties where all of the affected cases were detected. The Washington Post reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been reassuring Americans for days now that none of the cases seen so far have been due to mosquitoes that have made their way to the United States and that therefore Zika is not a major threat to public, yet. Scott appeared to acknowledge this in his executive order, but he also said that he was taking this action to “ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of Zika virus in our state.” Scott’s directive [...]