A Middlesex County resident has contracted Zika virus in the first case of the mosquito-borne illness to pop up in New Jersey since 2020, according to state health officials.
The person acquired the virus from travel and the risk to the general public remains low, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
Zika virus typically comes with mild symptoms but is dangerous for pregnant people, since it can cause birth defects, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms include fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain and red eyes, the CDC said.
Zika was put on many people’s radar when massive outbreaks in 2015 and 2016 resulted in thousands of cases in the United States, most of which were related to travel abroad or to Puerto Rico.
But cases have declined dramatically since then. There have only been six cases reported across the country this year so far, all of which were travel-associated, according to data from the CDC.
Zika virus is often transmitted via mosquito bites, but it can also spread via sex or to a fetus during pregnancy, according to the CDC. There are no vaccines or medicines approved for treatment, the CDC says.
In New York state, one case of travel-associated Zika virus was identified last year and there has never been local transmission, the state health department said. No cases have been reported in the five boroughs since 2021 and the disease has never been found in local mosquitoes, according to the city health department.
