NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee health officials have confirmed a third case of Zika virus in Tennessee.
Health Department Commissioner John Dreyzehner says all three cases were contracted by people while they were traveling outside the country.
Zika often causes no symptoms or mild symptoms, but it can cause the serious birth defect microcephaly if a pregnant woman becomes infected.
Health officials are concerned that people infected in another country could transmit the virus to the local mosquito population, beginning the spread of Zika within Tennessee. Zika also can be transmitted sexually, possibly for several months after infection.
Dreyzehner says Tennesseans can protect themselves and their neighbors by dumping out standing water around their homes and using mosquito repellant.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
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