This January 2016 image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that has been linked in Brazil to a large number of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect. Infants with microcephaly have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly. (Cynthia Goldsmith/CDC via AP)
The U.S. Virgin Islands is reporting its first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
Authorities said Friday that the patient is a 42-year-old woman who lives on the island of St. Croix and has not traveled recently.
The U.S. territory's Health Department has been distributing free mosquito bite prevention kits.
Brazilian officials have linked the tropical illness to birth defects. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that pregnant women should avoid traveling to 14 countries and territories in the Americas where the virus has been detected. Puerto Rico and Haiti have already reported Zika cases.
Zika symptoms are generally milder than those of dengue and chikungunya and can include a slight fever, headache and pain in the hands and feet.
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