Ask pregnant women about trips to Zika outbreak areas — CDC

Past outbreaks of Zika virus infection have been reported in Africa, Asia and the Oceanic Pacific region.

It has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains and some countries have advised women not to get pregnant.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the mosquito-borne Zika virus could spread to nearly every country in the Americas.

The U.S. territory's Health Department has been distributing free mosquito bite prevention kits.

More on the Zika virus: Media captionWhat is the Zika virus and why is it spreading across South America? There have been no reported cases of locally acquired Zika virus in Canada. However, if the sick person is isolated from mosquitos, the virus will run its course and be less likely to infect future mosquitos, thereby preventing localized infections. But by 2015, as Zika spread, Brazilian officials registered 2,782 cases before the end of the year, according to the New York Times.

The WHO said women planning to travel to areas where Zika is circulating - including Latin America and the Caribbean - should consult healthcare providers before travelling and on return.

The director general of the WHO, Margaret Chan, said the outbreak was "extremely worrisome".

They were: Puerto Rico, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.

"However, more evidence is needed to confirm whether sexual contact is a means of Zika transmission".

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains on its website that about one in five people affected with Zika will become ill, with symptoms including fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes).

The agency did not provide further details about the new cases but said that the Zika virus does not occur naturally in the UK.

The virus is spread when mosquitoes pick it up from infected people and then bite and infect others, according to the CDC.

Professor Laura Rodrigues, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "There is an unprecedented epidemic of microcephaly in Brazil".

The increased presence of the virus has raised concerns because of its connection with birth defects in babies whose mothers have been infected with the disease. People catch Zika virus by being bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito, the same type that spreads yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya. For those who plan on traveling to these areas, they should discuss the potential risks involved with their primary care doctors.