Four New Zika Cases Reported in Cuba – Health Ministry

Four more cases of the Zika virus have been detected in Cuba, bringing up the total to 21, the island nation’s Health Ministry announced Tuesday.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — All four developed Zika symthoms and tested positive for the disease shortly after returning from a trip to Guyana in South America, which is struggling to contain the outbreak.

The patients are being monitored at local hospitals. Their condition has been described as satisfactory, the Cuban health authority reported.

The Caribbean nation announced the first case of the infectious disease in March after a Venezuelan woman on the island came down with fever in February and was placed under quarantine.

The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito common in tropical areas of the Americas, and can affect the brains of unborn babies. The outbreak started in Brazil in the spring of 2015 and has since spread across Latin America and the Caribbean. Cases have also been reported in several European countries and Asia.