The Zika outbreak began in Brazil in the spring of 2015.
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Florida remains the only state in the US to have recorded locally transmitted Zika cases, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the next four weeks, SC and 10 other states should begin screening blood donations for the Zika virus, following a U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation.
The Red Cross announced Friday it was conducting blood donor tests for Zika in five southeastern states and would be expanding testing to four more states in the next two weeks.
Zika is caused by a virus which is primarily spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.
“We have implemented the strictest measures in controlling the spread of the Zika virus”, he said. Only one of Tuesday’s three new cases was linked to Miami Beach, which is known to be an active area for local Zika transmission.
Earlier this year, members of the team had found a link between Zika and microcephaly – a severe birth defect where babies are born with a much smaller head and brain.
There have been 26 confirmed cases of Zika in Washington State.
They said the drug compounds can both both stop Zika from replicating in the body and from damaging the crucial fetal brain cells that lead to birth defects in newborns.
Brain scans of babies born with microcephaly show scientists where the damage is occurring.
The virus was mostly detected through tests on Saturday.
On Tuesday, the USA joined a growing list of countries to issue travel warnings to mums-to-be or those trying to get pregnant, as the Zika infection can have serious consequences on pregnant women and their unborn children.
Singapore reported its first case of locally-transmitted Zika at the weekend, and the number of reported infections of the mosquito-borne virus has since jumped to 56. None of the cases were infected in Oregon. These included 13 Indian citizens, said a person at the Indian High Commission in Singapore. Among those who do develop symptoms, sickness is usually mild, with symptoms that last for several days to a week.
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However, many governments, including the UK’s, are advising women who are pregnant or planning to be, to speak to their doctors about any plans to go to Zika-affected areas, and take precautions against being bitten by mosquitoes once there.
