Health officials in the Philippines reported today at a press conference on the first confirmed local Zika virus transmission in the country. The case is reported in a woman in her 40s from Iloilo City. She is not pregnant.
Local mosquito transmission means that mosquitoes in the area are infected with Zika virus and are spreading it to people.
The patient, who had no travel history in the past two weeks, is recovering at home, Health Ministry spokesman, Dr Eric Tayag said.
This case in the Philippines follows a locally transmitted case in Malaysia and of course, the ongoing outbreak in Singapore.
This is the sixth laboratory confirmed Zika case reported in the Philippines since the first case was reported in a Cebu City teen in 2012.
The mosquito vector for Zika, Aedes aegypti, is present on the archipelago. Dengue fever, which is also transmitted via the Aedes vector, is reported in high numbers in the Philippines. Through Aug. 6, the Philippines Department of Health has reported 84,085 suspected dengue cases and 372 dengue-related fatalities.
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