Minnesota Resident Who Traveled To Central America Was First To Be Confirmed With Zika Virus

About a dozen Americans in a handful of states have been diagnosed with Zika and a Minnesota woman has tested positive for the Zika virus after traveling to Central America.   According to Liz SZabo of the, USA TODAY  reports The virus doesn't spread from person to person, like the flu. It's spread by mosquitoes, like malaria and West Nile Virus. The mosquito species that is known to spread Zika, the Aedes, doesn't live in Minnesota.

The new case was diagnosed in a woman in her 60s from Anoka County, Minn. Her symptoms began Jan. 1, after she returned from Honduras. She was not hospitalized and is expected to make a full recovery. 80% of people infected with Zika virus have no symptoms at all and those who do tend to have mild symptoms, including a low fever, rash, joint pain, headache and pink eye.

A travel alert warning has been put out for pregnant women because Zika virus is linked to a sharp increase in a type of birth defect, called microcephaly. Babies born with microcephaly have small skulls and incomplete brain development and are at high risk for developmental disabilities.