The first Zika virus case has been confirmed in Idaho.

According to a press release from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, a north Idaho woman who recently traveled to Mexico is confirmed to have been infected with the Zika virus. Health officials said the woman, who has not been identified, is over the age of 60.

This is the first reported case of the Zika virus infection in the state, with Idaho becoming the 47th state to report a travel-related Zika virus infection this year. The woman reportedly had symptoms, but did not require hospitalization.

What is Zika?

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that is most commonly spread through the bite of the Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which are not found in Idaho. Because of this, state health officials say there is no danger to the general public of the virus circulating through casual contact.

Aedes mosquitoes are daytime biters that prefer temperate and tropical climates. Travelers are advised to take precautions when visiting areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. This includes a small area of north Miami in Florida, and many countries in Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

Across the country

Since January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 1,658 Zika disease cases nationwide. Almost all of those cases are related to travel outside the United States.

During the last week, Florida announced 14 cases believed to be contracted from local mosquitoes in a small area of north Miami. Idaho has had no confirmed cases of Zika virus infection reported prior to this case.

A strange case in Utah

Utah health officials are still investigating how a man came down with Zika after caring for his infected father, but authorities said Tuesday they don’t believe the virus was spread by a mosquito.

Health workers have collected samples from more than 100 people who lived near the now-deceased father, and the results so far have been negative, indicating the unusual transmission wasn’t from the biting bugs, Utah Health Department spokesman Tom Hudachko said.

Officials visited homes in a 200-mile radius of where the father lived, and 123 people provided a blood sample to be tested. The majority of those samples have now been tested, Hudachko said.

While the type of tropical mosquito that mainly spreads the virus is not found in Salt Lake County, officials couldn’t immediately rule out the possibility that the bugs played a role.

While the father caught Zika abroad, health officials have been mystified by how the son got sick because the younger man didn’t travel to an affected area or have sexual contact with anyone who did.

The father, who was elderly and also suffered from another health condition, had an extremely high level of the virus in his blood, raising the possibility that it was transmitted through another bodily fluid in a way that hasn’t been yet identified by scientists.

The father died in late June, but the son has since recovered.

The team investigating the Utah case expects to complete a report in September.

Symptoms

Only one in five people exposed to the virus usually develop any symptoms, which are usually mild and last from a few days to a week after infection. The most common symptoms of infection are fever, rash, muscle and joint aches and pinkeye.

Zika is known to cause serious birth defects and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy. There is no preventive vaccine for Zika virus.

Pregnancy risks

The Zika virus is not spread from person to person through casual contact, but it can be spread through sexual contact by both men and women.

People who have recently traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission should either use a condom or avoid sex to reduce their risk.

If a woman is pregnant, condoms should be used during all sexual contact and for the duration of the pregnancy if their partner recently traveled to an area with local Zika transmission.

Women wanting to become pregnant should not try to conceive for at least eight weeks after they or their partners’ return from an area where Zika virus is circulating if neither partner had symptoms of Zika virus infection, or six months if either had symptoms.

Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant are strongly advised to avoid travel to areas of Zika virus transmission unless it is absolutely necessary.

Travel Precautions

If you plan to travel to an area where Zika virus is circulating, public health officials recommend you protect yourself from mosquito bites by:

n Wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

n Using EPA-registered insect repellents.

n Using permethrin-treated clothing and gear.

n Staying and sleeping in screened-in or air-conditioned rooms.