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First Zika Case Reported in Caribbean's Cayman Islands

The first locally-contracted case of the Zika virus has been confirmed in the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean nation's health department said.
Image: Female mosquito larvae are separated from maie ones at a \"sex separation area\" inside Sun Yat-Sen University-Michigan State University Joint Center of Vector Control for Tropical Disease in Guangzhou, China
Mosquito larvae pictured at a "mosquito factory" that breeds bacteria-infected mosquitoes in the fight against the spread of viruses such as Zika.BOBBY YIP / Reuters
/ Source: Reuters

The first locally-contracted case of the Zika virus has been confirmed in the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean nation's health department said.

The patient, a man, reported the first symptoms in late July and a sample was sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency for testing. He had not traveled to any countries in which Zika is present, the department said in a statement late Monday.

It came hours after Florida said health officials were investigating a new case of Zika in Palm Beach County that appears to be a local transmission.

The person recently traveled to Miami-Dade County, Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement Monday.

Scott said the state still believes active transmissions of the virus, which can cause a rare but devastating birth defect, are taking place only in a 1-square mile area in Miami-Dade County that includes the Wynwood district.

Related: Zika Is Here. I'm Pregnant. What Should I Do?

Health authorities say infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women can cause the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies.