Belize detects first Zika case in pregnant woman

(MENAFN- AFP) Belize's government said it has detected the first case of Zika in a pregnant woman, bringing to two the number of people confirmed infected with the virus in the Central American country.

The health ministry was also investigating another suspected case involving a pregnant woman, with tests underway, a statement said.

The government last week announced Belize's first Zika patient, living in the capital Belize City.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly, which can cause babies to be born with unusually small heads and deformed brains.

Fifty-one warm-weather countries and territories around the world have reported Zika transmission to some degree, according to a regularly updated online list maintained by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Most of them are in Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.