WASHINGTON (PNA/Sputnik) – The death of a resident of the US state of Utah last June is the first Zika virus-related fatality in the continental United States, the Salt Lake County Health Department said in a news release on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, US media reported that the victim was an elderly woman, but the health department noted that the person’s gender has not yet been released.
According to the statement, there is currently no Zika virus infection threat to the residents from mosquitoes in the area.
“[A Salt Lake County] resident infected with [the] Zika virus died in late June,” the release stated. “The deceased individual, who was elderly and had an underlying health condition, had traveled earlier this year to an area of the world where mosquitoes are known to spread the Zika virus.”