Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Health officials: 2 cases of Zika virus reported in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Health officials say two travel-related cases of Zika virus have been reported in Nebraska.

A statement Thursday from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says the cases in Douglas and Sarpy counties are the first in the state.

The department says the people infected are women in their 20s who recently traveled to Zika-affected countries. The outbreak has mainly hit Latin America and the Caribbean.

Neither woman was hospitalized.

The virus is mainly transmitted by mosquito. There has been one reported case in the U.S. of sexual transmission.

While most people infected with the virus do not get sick, health officials are investigating whether there is a link between Zika infections in pregnant women and a rare birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.