Two cases of Zika confirmed in state

State health officials have confirmed two cases of the Zika virus in Colorado this year in people who traveled to countries affected by the rapidly spreading infection.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says the cases were reported last week and that both patients have recovered.

“Colorado is likely to have more cases of Zika in the coming year,” CDPHE said in a news release Tuesday.

Officials declined to release more information about the cases, including where the infected people are from, where they were treated, their genders or ages.

Zika has been circulating swiftly through the Caribbean and South America during the past several months. The virus is suspected of causing a serious birth defect — abnormally small heads — in children born to infected pregnant women.

On Feb. 1, the World Health Organization designated the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.

In the United States, 107 travel- associated cases had been identified in 24 states as of lastweek, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorado was not one of those states. Florida had the most cases, with 28, followed by New York with 17 and Texas with 13.

Within the United States, there have been no locally acquired illnesses reported to date. The Zika virus is most commonly transmitted by the Aedes species mosquito, which flourishes in tropical climates and does not live in Colorado.

In U. S. territories, however, 39 locally acquired cases have been reported— 34 in Puerto Rico, four in American Samoa and one in the U. S. Virgin Islands.

While mosquito bites are the most common source of infection, the disease also can be spread by a man to his sexual partners.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been investigating more than a dozen cases of the virus being sexually transmitted in the United States.

The CDC is studying other forms of transmission and other possible complications from infection, including a rare form of paralysis.

Disease symptoms commonly include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes, and victims may feel muscle pain and headaches aswell.

There is no vaccine. The CDC advises rest, drinking plenty of water and acetaminophen.