A second person has tested positive for Zika infection in King County.
King County Department of Health reports the illness was identified in a female in her teens who had recently been in Haiti, a country that has Zika virus spreading actively and is on the list of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) travel advisories.
She is no longer ill from Zika.
Quick numbers relating to Zika virus in Washington state:
- 5 people are confirmed Zika virus cases; travel-based cases
- WA DOH has so far referenced 8 different people, as of May. Read here about the new way government tracks pregnant Zika cases.
- Two pregnant women in Washington fit in the "unspecified flavivirus" category
- Click here for flavivirus definition from CDC
DOH says the Zika virus leaves the blood of an infected person, usually within a week.
The types of mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not found in the Pacific Northwest, so local health officials do not expect the Zika virus to spread.
Zika infection is a very serious concern for pregnant women because of its link with a birth defect in newborns called microcephaly, an abnormally small brain and skull, and other poor pregnancy outcomes.
The teen was not pregnant at the time of her Zika testing.