Cayman Islands second local Zika case

The Cayman Islands has reported its second case of locally transmitted Zika virus.

An Aedes aegypti mosquito

The Cayman Islands has reported its second case of locally transmitted Zika virus. (AAP)

Two people have now contracted the Zika virus locally in the Cayman Islands, bringing the total number infected by the virus in the Caribbean territory to eight, the health department says.

A woman living in Cayman's capital George Town first reported her symptoms in July, and a sample sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency for testing has come back positive, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

She is not believed to have travelled to any countries in which Zika is present.

Late on Monday, the health department announced the first known case of Zika contracted on the islands, by a man who had also not travelled to affected countries. Six other people have contracted the virus overseas and returned home carrying the infection.

Authorities say that when contracted by pregnant women, Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies.

The ongoing Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly. Since that time the virus has spread rapidly through the Americas.

In July, Florida confirmed that the mostly mosquito borne virus had been transmitted locally on the US mainland for the first time.


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Source: AAP

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