Germany reports 1st sexual transmission of Zika virus
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An aedes aegypti mosquitoes is seen in The Gorgas Memorial institute for Health Studies laboratory as they conduct a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Panama City February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso - RTX25IDW
BERLIN (AP) -- German authorities say the country has recorded its first case of sexual transmission of the Zika virus.
The Robert Koch Institute says a female patient diagnosed with the virus appears to have been infected due to unprotected sex with a man who had been in Puerto Rico until early April.
The man developed symptoms of infection two weeks before the woman.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a statement Friday, the Robert Koch Institute ruled out that the woman could have been infected by a mosquito since she hadn't visited Zika-affected areas since mid-January.
Zika has spread rapidly through the Americas over the past year. The World Health Organization declared it a global emergency in February.
The virus can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.