Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Zika Virus Confirmed in Arizona

NPR

Health officials have confirmed Arizona's first case of the Zika virus in a Maricopa County woman.

The state Department of Health Services and county Department of Public Health said Monday that the unidentified adult woman traveled outside the U.S. to a Zika-affected area before developing symptoms.

Authorities say the risk of the virus spreading throughout Arizona is low and the state's public health system has a plan in place.

Zika virus is a type of flavivirus that is primarily transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.

A link has been identified between the virus and birth defects among infants of infected mothers.

Most people infected with the Zika virus don't become ill and those who do have symptoms that may include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.

Related Content