Health officials say a person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sex, in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin America.
The US Centers for Disease Control issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveler was infected with Zika.
France’s health minister said two French regions in the Caribbean are facing a Zika epidemic, and the government is sending extra hospital equipment and preparing extra medical staff to combat it.
Marisol Touraine told reporters Wednesday that Martinique and French Guiana have had 2,500 potential cases and about 100 confirmed Zika cases since mid-December, including 20 pregnant women and two people suffering a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Meanwhile, scientists at an Indian lab said they have developed the world’s first vaccine against the virus. 
According to NDTV, Bharat Biotech International Limited in Hyderabad said it has patented the Zika vaccine.
“On Zika, we are probably the first vaccine company in the world to file a vaccine candidate patent about nine months ago,” Dr. Krishna Ella said. 
Using a live Zika virus imported officially, the Hyderabad company has now developed two candidate vaccines, but taking them through animal and human trials could be a long haul. 
Dr. Ella said he had sought the government’s support on this and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)has stepped forward to help. 
“We have just been informed about the Zika vaccine candidate that Bharat Biotech has. We will examine it from the scientific point of view and see the feasibility of taking it forward. It is a good example of a Make in India product,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said.
Also on Wednesday, Indonesia officially confirmed a case of the virus dating back to last year but said it was prepared to handle any outbreak of the disease.
Government officials confirmed a single case of the virus had been detected in Jambi on Sumatra island. It was discovered by researchers studying specimens taken during a dengue fever outbreak between December 2014 and April 2015.
“We found an infected patient in Jambi. The presentation by the health minister showed that it is under control,” senior minister Puan Maharani told reporters after a high-level meeting convened by President Joko Widodo to discuss the virus.

SourcE: Arab News