Cayman Islands reports 1st case of locally transmitted Zika

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — The Cayman Islands is reporting its first local transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has been spreading across the Americas since last year.

The acting medical officer of the British Caribbean territory announced Monday that a Grand Cayman man appears to be the first local case of Zika on the three islands. Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez says the patient has not traveled recently.

The government says seven Cayman Islands inhabitants have been confirmed to have contracted Zika abroad.

Zika causes a mild illness in most people. But it can lead to severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy.

In recent days, U.S. authorities announced cases in Florida believed to be first of people contracting the virus from mosquitoes within the 50 states.