Zika virus
© CDC / Cynthia Goldsmith / ReutersA transmission electron micrograph (TEM) shows the Zika virus, in an undated photo provided by the Centers For Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Arkansas Department of Health has just confirmed a resident has tested positive for Zika Virus.

The US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) told the department late yesterday afternoon that the infected resident recently traveled out of the country and had "a mild case of Zika".

Originally discovered in Africa in the 1940s, the relatively-new disease first appeared in Brazil in May 2005.

According to the Arkansas health department's statement, the virus has since spread to at least 20 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

"Arkansas residents traveling to Central or South America or the Caribbean, where Zika is present, should take precautions against mosquitoes. If you are pregnant, consider postponing your trip," said Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas Department of Health Director and State Health Officer.


He added that Arkansas mosquitoes are the kind that can carry Zika if they bite someone who is infected.

People who travel to countries where the disease is known are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites for ten days following their return.

Travelers should also contact their doctor upon their arrival home if they experience symptoms within three to seven days.

Zika is contracted through mosquito bites and has also been detected in human semen, but cannot be spread by human contact.


Symptoms are mild and include fever, rash, joint pain, and red, itchy eyes. However, Brazil's Ministry of Health has previously said that sometimes people infected with the virus can go without symptoms.

Pregnant women are most at risk, as the virus has been linked to serious birth defects. The disease has gained international attention in recent weeks because of the increase in infected cases.


In Brazil alone, nearly 4,000 babies born to women infected with Zika had microcephaly, a neurological disorder which affects the size of the baby's head. That's a huge increase from 2014, when only 146 babies were affected.

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the disease.