State health workers confirm additional Zika virus cases

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed three additional Zika virus cases on Friday.

Workers told ABC 17 News one patient is a man and two others are non-pregnant women.

All three of the patients had traveled outside of the United States to areas where the virus has been transmitted.

These cases bring the total number of travel-related cases found in Missouri to 12.

International health workers have found a connection between pregnant women contracting the virus and a birth defect called microcephaly.

Microcephaly is a condition that causes an infant to have an underdeveloped brain and a small head.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found the Zika virus can spread through a mosquito bite, unprotected sex, through a blood transfusion and an infected pregnant woman can pass it on to her fetus.

The CDC recommends not traveling to Zika-affected regions such as Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Right now, there is no vaccine for the virus.

You can find more information about the Zika virus by visiting this link.