First ’17 sexually transmitted Zika case in Florida found

Florida health officials confirmed Tuesday the state’s first case of sexually transmitted Zika in 2017. The infection occurred in Pinellas County.

The infected individual had no recent travel history, but that person’s sexual partner had recently traveled to Cuba and was sick with symptoms consistent with Zika infection, health officials said. The CDC lists Cuba as one of the nations with Zika travel risk. Both individuals subsequently tested positive for Zika.

To reduce the potential for local transmission, mosquito control has taken appropriate actions to kill the mosquitoes in that area of the county, state officials said.

It’s been only two years since Zika became a household name. The virus is a relative of the dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses, but there’s still much unknown about it.

What researchers know for sure is that the virus is transmitted via the bite of infected mosquitoes, from an infected mother to her fetus via the placenta or via sexual contact with an infected person (sex includes vaginal, anal and oral sex and the sharing of sex toys, according to the CDC).

Although the infection is mostly benign in adults, it can lead to devastating neurological damage in unborn babies, leading to severe birth defects and lifelong disabilities.

Under Gov. Rick Scott’s order from last year, pregnant women in Florida can continue receiving free Zika assessments and testing at their local county health departments.