The first Zika-related death in the continental United States has been confirmed

Officials of Salt Lake County, Utah, have announced and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the first confirmed death related to the Zika virus within the continental United States.

The patient, believed to have contracted the virus while visiting a Zika-affected area this year, was elderly and suffered from an underlying condition which may have affected the viral symptoms. "We know [Zika] contributed to the death," said medical official Dagmar Vitek, "but we don't know if it was the sole cause."

The species of mosquitoes which transmit Zika are not present in the region where the patient lived, and no locally transmitted infections have been reported in the United States.

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