BALTIMORE (AP) - Health officials say Maryland has its first confirmed Zika virus infection.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a news release Thursday that a Maryland resident who had traveled to a country where Zika transmission has been active and ongoing has tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus.
Many people infected with the Zika virus do not get sick. For those who do, it is usually a mild illness with symptoms including fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The virus is primarily spread through bites from a specific mosquito.
Health officials are investigating whether there is a link between Zika infections in pregnant women and a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.
