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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile's health ministry says the mosquito that transmits the Zika virus has been found in the South American country.
The presence of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito in Chilean continental areas was reported Monday.
Health Minister Carmen Castillo says the mosquito is in Arica. The port is about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) north of the Chilean capital.
U.S. health officials recently said there's no longer any doubt Zika can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects.
Chilean officials said earlier this year that they had registered the first locally acquired case of the Zika virus, which was sexually transmitted within Chile.
Aedes Aegypti has also been detected in the Easter Island territory in the Pacific more than 2,100 miles (3,500 kilometers) from Chile's mainland.
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