Another Zika Case Appears in Bay Area

California’s San Mateo County reported a new case of Zika virus, confirmed publicly on Friday.

The infected person became contracted the virus outside of the United States, and has since recovered according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Health officials stressed that there is no further risk of contracting the virus from the infected individual.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos are known to transmit Zika and have been found in the U.S. However, cases of Zika in the U.S. have been contracted while the infected individuals were either traveling abroad or due to sexual contact. Typically, the Zika-spreading mosquitos are most prevalent in Central and South American countries.

In February of this year, Zika-spreading mosquitos were found infesting an area of Orange County, California. Those mosquitos were not found to be carrying the virus. As of that time, Zika-spreading mosquitos had been discovered in 12 of California’s 58 counties.

Just last week, the first California case of Zika spread by sexual transmission was reported in the state. The California Department of Public Health instructed:

A man infected with Zika virus can spread it to his sexual partners. It is not known how long after infection a man can spread Zika virus to sexual partners. At this time, there is no evidence that women can transmit Zika virus to their sexual partners.

“If your partner has traveled to an area where Zika is present, protecting yourself by abstaining from sex or using condoms during sex is the best way to prevent sexual transmission of the Zika virus,” said California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. In that case the woman infected was not pregnant.

In early March, health officials reported that the virus had reached the Bay Area. As in the San Mateo case, the announcement of the San Francisco case was made only after the patient had recovered.

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