Zika virus: Airlines are refunding tickets to Latin America

The Zika virus is linked to microcephaly, a birth defect where the infant is born with an abnormally small brain.

The Netherlands confirmed 10 cases and Britain five, all among people returning from South America.

The mosquito-borne disease isn’t contagious, only passing from person to person if a mosquito bites the blood of an infected person and then bites another. United Airlines said customers can get refunds or change their flight without a fee, while American Airlines is offering refunds to pregnant women.

The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

Representatives with infection control at Wadley Regional in Texarkana say no cases have been reported in the area and they were recently given CDC guidelines in case it does.

Travelers can also bring the virus to the country, it said.

In fact, in warmer months, those mosquitoes can be found in regions where 60 percent of Americans live.

Zika virus is a relatively new disease for the Western Hemisphere.

Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine said Tuesday, that the person who tested positive in Virginia poses no risk to other residents because it is not mosquito season in Virginia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is holding a special meeting on Thursday on the Zika virus, which US scientists say has an “explosive pandemic potential”.

Cases of the Zika virus continue to grow, with health departments reporting at least 19 people diagnosed in the US and 19 people infected in Puerto Rico. Women in Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador have been advised against becoming pregnant during the outbreak.

Zika has been linked to mental defects at birth in thousands of children in Brazil.

The Zika virus was discovered back in 1947 in Africa and has similar symptoms to Yellow Fever, but has never been responsible for the death of a human in recorded history. BBC report that the Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said the country was “losing badly” in the fight against the virus.