Prague – The Czech Health Ministry on Thursday reported the first two confirmed cases of Zika virus in the country.
Health Minister, Svatopluk Nemecek, said in Prague that a woman had been infected with the Zika virus on a trip to the Dominican Republic, while a man had caught the virus on the Caribbean island of Martinique.
He said both patients displayed flu-like symptoms and a skin rash, while a medical laboratory had confirmed the diagnosis.
Nemecek said the woman had not been pregnant, the health minister pointed out, and both people had been treated as outpatients.
Zika has been spotted in more than 30 countries, most of them in the Americas.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
The virus usually causes only mild symptoms including fever.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said researchers are currently trying to find the connection between Zika malformations in babies.
The virus has been associated with microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. (dpa/NAN)