Three British people have been diagnosed with the Zika virus after arriving back in the UK from overseas.
The patients are being treated by doctors at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.
Details of the cases, identified in the period April 1 to June 30, were published in an infection control report to the health trust’s board meeting yesterday.
The report said: “Three patients have tested positive for Zika virus following return from foreign travel.”
Dr Gavin Boyd, infection control lead at Calderdale and Huddersfield hospitals,said: “There is no specific treatment for Zika and it usually wears off naturally after two to seven days.
“There is extremely low risk of contracting Zika virus in the UK as the mosquito that transmits the infection is not present in the UK, however it can be spread by sexual transmission.”
It comes just days after a baby was born with microcephaly – a birth defect believed to be linked to the virus - in Spain.
A total of 53 people have now been treated in the UK for the Zika infection.
Zika has been linked to birth defects including microcephaly, which causes babies to have abnormally small heads.
Since the Zika epidemic began in 2015, nearly 5,000 cases of microcephaly have been recorded in affected regions.
NHS guidelines recommend that pregnant women postphone non-essential travel to areas with active Zika transmission.
The virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility it can also be spread through sex.
The mosquitos that transmit the infection are now thought to be able to live in colder climates, like in the UK.
MORE ABOUT