HARTFORD–On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health confirmed that a fourth person in the state of Connecticut had tested positive for the Zika virus.
The woman in her 30s is not pregnant. On April 25 she returned from the Caribbean to Connecticut and four days later she started feeling sick–she had a fever, rash and pink eye.
The state lab is certified to test for Zika and confirmed the diagnosis.
There have been 426 cases of travel-related Zika reported in the continental United States so far, 36 of which were in pregnant women and eight of which were sexually transmitted.
In Connecticut, 245 patients, including 217 pregnant women, have been tested for Zika virus, but only four have tested positive, including one pregnant woman.
Officials have been warning for months that those who travel to Zika-impacted areas, especially those who intend to become pregnant, need to take extra precautions or postpone travel. However, on Tuesday, Commissioner Raul Pino reasserted the need for male partners of women who intend to become pregnant or are already pregnant also take extra precautions because Zika can be sexually transmitted.
Pino also warns that you may be able to sexually transmit the illness for at least six months after symptoms begin. Also, it can take as long as eight weeks after travel for symptoms to appear, so if you visit an infected area you should still consider using condoms or not having sex even if you don’t feel ill.
