SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco health officials reported on Thursday, March 3 that a city resident tested positive for Zika in February 2016 after contracting the disease in Central America.
The news was made public after Napa County health officials had reported a pregnant woman testing positive for Zika. Within the greater Bay Area, Alameda County has also reported a patient being infected with the disease.
Zika has been most commonly known to be spread through mosquitos bites, but there have also been reports of the virus being spread through sexual intercourse. The disease is currently prominent in Latin American countries, as well as the Caribbean islands.
Health officials say the identities of the victims are being protected, all infected parties were said to have contracted the disease from traveling to the Central America region. San Francisco health officials did not specify the gender of the infected patient. They did reveal that the resident was not pregnant.
The three recent Bay Area Zika infections have been part of the six reported cases within California. The Department of Public Health has noted that Mika is currently not a threat in the United States, as no cases have involved patients being infected within the country.
The Zika virus has been said to be a great risk to women who are pregnant due to the risk of being born with a birth defect called microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with unusually small heads. There is currently no known cure or preventative vaccination for the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an official travel alert for people traveling to areas with highly reported transmission rates. Pregnant women in particular have been advised to reconsider or postpone their travel plans to these affected countries.
Women who are pregnant have been advised to use condoms or abstain from sexual activity with partners who have traveled to the areas in order to prevent potential transmission.
