Alaskan gets infected with Zika virus in Central America

An Alaskan who recently traveled abroad has contracted the state's third recorded case of Zika infection, health officials said Friday.

The patient tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus after returning from a trip to areas of Central America where the virus is prevalent, according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

DHSS spokeswoman Rebecca Lynch declined to say where in Central America the patient traveled or when, citing privacy laws. She did say that no other Zika infections as a result of the trip were reported to the department.

"We are only aware of the one case," Lynch said.

It also wasn't clear whether the patient specifically sought treatment for Zika or whether the virus was detected during other medical procedures. Lynch said health care providers who encounter Zika and other diseases that pose public-health threats are required by state law to inform DHSS.

The virus, which can cause birth defects including microcephaly in babies born to infected women, can cause symptoms including fever, rashes and joint pain and can be sexually transmitted. It made national headlines last year during a widespread outbreak in North and South America.

Dr. Jay Butler, the state's chief medical officer, said in the statement that Alaskans shouldn't be worried about catching the virus while outdoors in the state.

"The Zika virus cannot be spread between humans through casual contact and is transmitted only by two species of mosquitoes native to warmer climates that do not live here in Alaska," Butler said.

[Zika virus and Alaska: Here's what to know]

Lynch said Friday that Alaska's first Zika case was reported in 2007, in a patient who visited the Pacific Ocean island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The second, which was reported as the state's first case at the time, involved a man visiting Sitka for work who had traveled to Central America.

No heightened precautions were being taken in Alaska due to the new report, Lynch said. The department urged Alaskans traveling to Zika-prone areas to take precautions including the use of insect repellent, screening or closing windows and sleeping under mosquito nets, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and removing nearby standing water to prevent mosquito breeding.

"If people are planning to travel somewhere where Zika is prevalent, just follow the precautions," Lynch said. "Be alert for symptoms."