Zika virus spreads in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba

Cuban media are reporting that 21-year-old woman in Havana who has never been abroad, has been diagnosed with the Zika virus.

Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported on Tuesday that the woman was taken to hospital with complaints of headache and high fever.

The country's previous cases all involved people who had visited Venezuela.

President Raul Castro had announced that 9,000 soldiers and 200 other members of the security forces were assigned to cope with the Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, following an initial outbreak.

World Health Organization (WHO) data indicate that local Zika transmission has been documented in 55 countries and territories from Jan. 2007 to March 3 this year.

Many countries in South America are experiencing a large outbreak of the virus, with Brazil being particularly hard hit since reporting its first case last May.

Although 80 percent of cases do not result in any symptoms, WHO officials estimate that 1.5 million people have been infected in Brazil so far.

HAVANA, Cuba

Cuban media are reporting that 21-year-old woman in Havana who has never been abroad, has been diagnosed with the Zika virus.

Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported on Tuesday that the woman was taken to hospital with complaints of headache and high fever.

The country's previous cases all involved people who had visited Venezuela.

World Health Organization (WHO) data indicate that local Zika transmission has been documented in 55 countries and territories from Jan. 2007 to March 3 this year.

Many countries in South America are experiencing a large outbreak of the virus, with Brazil being particularly hard hit since reporting its first case last May.

Although 80 percent of cases do not result in any symptoms, WHO officials estimate that 1.5 million people have been infected in Brazil so far.