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First confirmed Zika patient in Virginia speaks

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — A Harrisonburg mother of three has been diagnosed with the first known case of the Zika virus in the state. Heather Baker tells media outlets that she received a letter dated Feb. 1 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirming that she has Zika virus. Baker thinks she contracted…

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A health worker, reflected in a mirror, sprays insecticide in the home of a woman diagnosed with the Zika virus in Acacias, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. With more than 20,000 cases confirmed in Colombia and fearing that the virus could affect more than half a million people, the government launched a nationwide prevention campaign. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
A health worker, reflected in a mirror, sprays insecticide in the home of a woman diagnosed with the Zika virus in Acacias, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. With more than 20,000 cases confirmed in Colombia and fearing that the virus could affect more than half a million people, the government launched a nationwide prevention campaign. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — A Harrisonburg mother of three has been diagnosed with the first known case of the Zika virus in the state.

Heather Baker tells media outlets that she received a letter dated Feb. 1 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirming that she has Zika virus. Baker thinks she contracted the virus in November while on a mission trip in Guatemala.

She says the first symptom was a swollen lymph node on the side of her head. She then began experiencing joint pain, a rash and body aches.

Zika is transmitted from infected mosquitoes to people, from infected pregnant mothers to babies and possibly through sexual activity. Babies born to mothers with the virus can have birth defects.

Baker says she is managing her symptoms and trying to be cautious.

 

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redistributed.

 

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