HEALTH
March 21, 2016

A Western Kentucky man has tested positive for Zika virus, according to the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

The man became infected with the virus after traveling in a Caribbean country, according to DPH. The agency did not identify the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the test results to DPH Monday.

The agency said the man has fully recovered from the illness.

Zika, an infectious viral illness, is primarily spread through the bite of a mosquito that carries the virus. Zika is not known to be circulating in the mosquito population in Kentucky – or any other part of the United States.

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The virus is linked to the birth defect microcephaly, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development and abnormal smallness of the head. It has also been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis in individuals who have been infected.

Earlier this month, a Louisville man who had recently been traveling in a Central American country tested positive for the virus. DPH said they expected him to fully recover.

WFPL previously reported on the state’s effort to prepare for Zika virus.

Vickie Yates Glisson, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the agency — through the Department of Public Health — has been preparing for a potential Zika case for several months.