The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has announced the first case of Zika virus in a North Carolina resident.
Officials say the case was confirmed in an adult who recently traveled to a country with an ongoing Zika virus transmission.
A release says the patients’ symptoms have resolved.
State health director Randall Williams says that more travel-related Zika virus infections are expected in the Tar Heel state as long as the outbreak continues in Central and South America.
“While travel-related cases don’t present a public health threat to North Carolina, we always actively monitor emerging global situations and adjust resources to meet needs,” Williams says.
Officials add that no cases of the disease are known to have been acquired in North Carolina, at this time. One infection in Texas has been attributed to sexual transmission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported travel-related Zika infections in 21 other states, as of February 18.
“We want to take this opportunity to reinforce that travelers to any of the countries with active Zika transmission should follow precautions to minimize their exposure to mosquito bites,” Williams says.
The virus has been in the news recently as concerns have spread that the disease, which is initially passed through mosquito bites, could possibly be causing birth defects. Pregnant women can pass the infection on to unborn children, according to HHS officials.
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