Third case of Zika virus confirmed in Snohomish County

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Snohomish officials say a teenage girl is the third person to test positive for Zika virus in the county.


The Snohomish Health District said Tuesday the girl had recently traveled to Nicaragua, an area known to have mosquitoes infected with the virus.

Officials say the teen isn't pregnant and that they are working with her health care provider to follow virus guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Monday, the CDC instructed pregnant women to avoid a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, marking what is believed to be the first time in the agency's 70-year history that it warned people not to travel somewhere in the United States. Fourteen people are believed to have become infected with Zika from mosquito bites there.

The Zika virus can cause severe brain-related defects, including extremely small skulls.