>> linzie janis, thank you. >>> dr. richard besser is just i want to get to the new warning from the cdc, recommending protected sex between couples for up to nine months. leading to the question, do we know how long the virus stays in your system? >> what we know from similar viruses, once you're no longer sick, about a week or so later, you can't find it in your blood. but the concern is that it may be transmitted through sexual contact for longer. so, they're recommending abstaining from sex. of course, the main push is going to continue to be mosquito control. >> rich besser, thank you. >>> there are also new developments after the deadly explosion. a jet in midair. the fbi now on the scene in somalia. a hole blown right through the side of the plane. a passenger pulled from the jet. investigators suspect it may be a bomb smuggled in a laptop. the leading suspect, al shabaab. >>> there's still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this friday. well-known quarterback in the nfl. his family speaking out. >>> also, t

we are on it all tonight, and abc's linzie janis leads us off from louisiana tonight. linzie? >> reporter: david, we're here in prairieville, where a reported tornado ripped apart this gym. it took off the roof. you can see, this metal beam is all that's left of the side wall, completely knocked down. this damage, from one of across the gulf coast. >> oh look, it's going down! >> reporter: funnel clouds trying to touch down near new new orleans. >> a tornado warning in this area. take shelter now. extreme threat. >> reporter: severe weather spawning this massive water spout on lake pontchartrain. >> third one coming off to the side. >> reporter: watch as two more form on the sides. the threat growing throughout the day. now, a particularly dangerous situation. officials in four states telling residents to be on extreme alert for large, long-tracking tornadoes. major damage to downtown businesses in prairieville. incredibly, dozens of people inside this gold's gym, unharmed, as a reported tornado rips through. >> i started screaming, everybody get down, everybody get down, take

abc's linzie janis in florida. >> reporter: tonight, the state of florida ramping up its fight against the zika virus. >> all the cases in florida are travel-related. the mosquito that causes zika >> reporter: the governor now declaring a state of emergency in five counties. so, are they prepared? florida has 20 million residents and over 100 million tourists a year. and right now, they have less than 1,000 kits to test for zika. the governor is requesting thousands more. do we think that there are many people walking around with the zika virus that don't know they have it? >> only 1 in 5 individuals who have been bitten and infected by a mosquito actually snow any signs or symptoms. >> reporter: the symptoms of zika? fever, rash, joint pain and co? sometimes muscle pain and headache. in dallas this week, news that the virus was transmitted sexually has many officials concerned. and just tonight, another worry. the first case of zika infection from a blood transfusion reported in brazil. david, here at miami international airport, there are thousands of flights coming in every day from

abc's linzie janis leads us off from the tornado zone tonight. >> reporter: tonight, those deadly storms barrelling up the east coast. >> tornado just came through, right on 460. >> reporter: a suspected tornado striking waverly, virginia, least three dead. in the last 24 hours, at least three dozen tornadoes hitting the gulf coast. many striking at night, as people slept. >> you need to pull over. >> reporter: in pensacola, florida, campbell garris and his girlfriend making it to their driveway, riding out the tornado in his pickup truck. >> oh, my god. >> all i could hear was it sounded as if i parked my truck next to a train. >> reporter: the ef-3 tornado packing 155-mile-per-hour winds, damaging more than 100 homes here. these people didn't have very much time to react at all. >> very little. very little. >> reporter: including these apartments. and look at this. the entire second floor of this apartment building ripped off. you can see right into people's living rooms. >> look at that thing coming in here like this. >> reporter: twisters claiming the lives of at least three others,

here's linzie janis. >> reporter: tonight, a drastic new recommendation for expecting couples. the cdc saying men returning from zika-affected countries should use protection with their partner for the entire pregnancy, or abstain altogether. but mosquitoes are still the primary way zika is spread. lizzie morales, a houston mother, got zika over the holidays while visiting el salvador. >> you have no strength, no energy, to do anything. not to even sit down. >> reporter: her symptoms subsided. but three deaths in colombia now blamed on zika. biologist matthew degennaro showing us a potential tool to fight the virus -- genetically modified mosquitoes. >> when you release the males, they go breed with females just of this species and render them sterile. >> reporter: so that knocks down the population? >> yes. >> reporter: david, in miami, they're spraying where there are to get rid of mosquitoes. >> dr. richard besser is just back from brazil. i want to get to the recommendation from the cdc, leading to the question, do we know how long the virus stays in your system? >> once yo