10th case of Zika identified in Spain

Baku. 5 February. REPORT.AZ/ Spain on Thursday became the first European country to confirm the Zika virus in a pregnant woman - a milestone in the alarmingly rapid spread of the disease across the globe.

Report informs referring to the foreign media, according to a statement issued by the regional health ministry in Catalonia, the woman caught the virus in Colombia, from where she travelled to Spain. She is one of six confirmed cases in Catalonia and 10 across Spain, but the only one who acquired the virus during pregnancy. 

All the known carriers caught the virus outside the country.

The health ministry said the woman had recently returned from Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.

Zika, which is spreading through the Americas, has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly condition, linked to the mosquito-borne virus, a global public health emergency.

The WHO on Thursday also advised countries not to accept blood donations from people who had travelled to Zika-affected regions.