First Arizona case of Zika confirmed

Health officials have confirmed Arizona’s first case of the Zika virus in a Maricopa County woman.

The state Department of Health Services and Maricopa Department of Public Health said Monday that the unidentified adult woman traveled outside the U.S. to a Zika-affected area before developing symptoms.

Public health officials would not say where the woman had traveled. Authorities say the risk of the virus spreading throughout Arizona is low, and the state’s public health system has a plan in place.

Zika virus is a type of flavivirus that is primarily transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.

A link has been identified between the virus and birth defects among infants of infected mothers. Most people infected with the Zika virus don’t become ill and those who do have symptoms that may include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.

“We have been expecting a travel-associated case of Zika virus, and we believe more infections are likely as people travel to and from areas where the disease is currently being transmitted,” Arizona Department of Health Services director Dr. Cara Christ said in a news release.

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Prior to 2015, Zika virus outbreaks occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infections in Brazil.

Earlier this month, a 29-year-old Hermosillo resident who traveled to Brazil in February was the first case of Zika in Sonora, Mexican officials said.

Currently, outbreaks are occurring in many countries.

For more information on Zika in Arizona, visit azhealth.gov/zika