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Alabama health officials confirm first Zika virus case in state

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito behind the Zika virus seems to operate like a heat-driven missile of disease. Scientists say the hotter it gets, the better the mosquito that carries Zika virus is at transmitting a variety of dangerous illnesses. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito behind the Zika virus seems to operate like a heat-driven missile of disease. Scientists say the hotter it gets, the better the mosquito that carries Zika virus is at transmitting a variety of dangerous illnesses. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

By Associated Press 2 min read

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A north Alabama resident who recently traveled to Latin America has been diagnosed with the state’s first confirmed case of the Zika virus, and a few others are being tested, health officials said Wednesday.

The person lives in Morgan County in the Tennessee Valley, visited a country where the virus has been reported and went to a doctor for testing after returning home, said Dr. Jim McVay, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“The person is fine,” said McVay, who declined to release any information about the patient.

Another person who traveled to a Latin American country tested negative, McVay said, and health officials are awaiting results on tests performed on four other people.

Federal and state officials said cases of the virus have been confirmed in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and acting Alabama State Health Officer Tom Miller said it wasn’t a surprise the virus showed up in Alabama.