The state health department said on Thursday that a resident who recently traveled in a country where the mosquito-transmitted illness is rampant tested positive for the virus after returning home.
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The virus, spreading quickly across the Americas, is usually transmitted by mosquitoes, and is linked to brain deformities in babies.
The main concern for pregnant women is the link of Zika to Microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which a baby is born with a very small head.
A Maryland resident has been diagnosed with the Zika virus in Baltimore, in the first confirmed case in the state.
Officials said the disease is short-lived and lasts about seven days.
The latest case “was communicated to the World Health Organization [WHO] and we are studying it in more depth because we have just received the information”, Health Minister Marcelo Castro said during a news conference. “However, we are advising all people, particularly pregnant women, to avoid travelling to those countries where there have been Zika outbreaks”.
It was first reported in a monkey living in the Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947, and spread to humans in Africa and Asia within a few years. It might reflect prior infection with related viruses instead. The department is facilitating testing of people, especially pregnant women who have traveled to Zika-prone areas.
“If they are going to these countries and they are pregnant they should consult their doctor and make a decision together with her doctor”, said the commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen. Those thought to have been infected then could undergo ultrasound scans to monitor fetal development.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said they will be sending samples directly to the CDC for analysis.
Asked by lawmakers, Frieden responded, “If this behaves as other viruses behave, there would be no risk to the next pregnancy after some period of a month or so, but we don’t know that for sure”.
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The DOD will assist other government agencies in developing a vaccine against Zika, new vector control agents and improved diagnostic tests.
