United States health officials have updated their progress on a months-long probe into a “unique” Zika case in Utah, saying they are still unable to identify how the person was infected.
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The Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland have also confirmed that up to five cases have been diagnosed in the North since 2015 – although their policy is not to release an exact figure of diagnoses if it is below five, so as not to identify those affected.
The CDC is recommending pregnant women avoid traveling to Zika-affected areas which include areas of Florida and countries ranging from Mexico into the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
In a statement the PHA said: “Zika does not occur naturally in the UK”.
The mosquito is not present in the United Kingdom but is common in South America, Africa and Asia.
The World Health Organisation has described the Zika virus as a global health emergency. They had both been to areas where Zika virus is being transmitted locally, specifically Mexico and Nicaragua.
Several English and Scottish people have also been diagnosed with the virus, which causes mild symptoms including a rash, fever and headache in most cases.
“This goes to show that there are two types of virus strains lurking among us”, he told a special media conference on Zika here today.
As part of the investigation, USA health officials tested more than 200 people for the Zika virus, including family contacts of both cases, health care workers who cared for the deceased patient and members of the general public who lived near both of the cases, and they have not revealed any additional cases.
In these cases, the baby’s brain may not have formed properly during pregnancy. Pregnant women are urged to postpone any unnecessary travels.
In Brazil thousands of babies have been born with suspected microcephaly or abnormally small heads since the outbreak was declared. Although many will not develop any symptoms at all, others may also suffer from conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and feel exhausted.
“From what we have seen with more than 2,900 cases of Zika in United States, non-sexual spread of Zika virus from one person to another does not appear to be common – this is the only case identified to date that has an unknown mode of transmission”, CDC spokesperson Benjamin Haynes told TIME in an email.
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An estimated 80 per cent of people infected have no symptoms, making it hard for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
