A blood test was issued to confirm she was infected and the incident was reported to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD).
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All U.S. cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus have been the result of global travel.
The risk of contracting the virus increases during the summer months due to increased mosquito activity, according to a DeKalb County Health Department press release.
Aedes aegypti, the mosquito blamed for the Zika outbreak linked to birth defects in Brazil, can be found in the southern USA from Florida to California.
DPH said about one in five people infected with the virus develop the disease, and most people who are infected do not develop symptoms.
The illness, according to the CDC, is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
“We recommended, as precaution, these students visit the Student Health Center or their healthcare provider to be tested if they are experiencing symptoms”, he wrote. There is no specific medication available to treat Zika virus and there is not a vaccine. “That may begin to change if we see more and more cases in the continental USA, which increases the likelihood of local mosquitoes being infected with the disease”.
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“The U.S. and District of Columbia now have 691 confirmed Zika cases as of June 8, none of which were local mosquito-borne”, said Dr. Awe Madukah-Ezeh, medical director for the division in a statement. “It simply reinforces the message that taking mosquito bite prevention steps while overseas is very important”. Mosquitoes become carriers after biting humans infected with Zika, according to the CDC.
