Pregnant woman in Victoria diagnosed with Zika virus after overseas travel

The latest case involves a woman from the state of Victoria who was going through an “extremely anxious” time, the southern state’s Health Minister Jill Hennessy said.

It’s one of the reasons health officials do not recommend women who are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant to travel to places where the virus has been found.

Dr Taylor said the virus could be transmitted sexually and pregnant women or couples trying to conceive who have travelled in affected areas should watch out for symptoms.

The mosquito-borne virus has reached what the World Health Organization characterizes as an emergency status. There have been reports of women infected with the disease during pregnancy delivering babies with microcephaly.

Since the Zika epidemic first surfaced in Brazil last spring, the virus has spread to 30 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ms Hennessy urged Victorians to “get access to good quality information” before travelling to countries where there was a Zika prevalence.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is hiring two infectious disease specialists to counsel any Olympians who might have concerns about the Zika outbreak in Brazil.

Three people have died in Venezuela after contracting the Zika virus, President Nicolas Maduro said Friday. Investigations into the over 4,000 reported cases of microcephaly have so far only confirmed that 17 of them were linked to Zika, while 709 cases have been ruled out.

Although only 20 percent of people infected will have symptoms, the virus has been associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barr Syndrome, a neurological disorder and microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by smaller than normal head size.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has confirmed its first case of a Marylander being infected with the Zika virus.

Below is a list of counties with patients who have contracted the Zika virus in other countries.

The state health department said it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue to monitor new developments in the virus.

Despite fears about Zika in Brazil, experts say the Aedes aegypti mosquito also transmits dengue, which is endemic in the country and even more unsafe.