Germany reports 1st sexual transmission of Zika virus

BERLIN – German authorities say the country has recorded its first case of sexual transmission of the Zika virus.

The Robert Koch Institute says a female patient diagnosed with the virus appears to have been infected due to unprotected sex with a man who had been in Puerto Rico until early April.

The man developed symptoms of infection two weeks before the woman.

In a statement Friday, the Robert Koch Institute ruled out that the woman could have been infected by a mosquito since she hadn’t visited Zika-affected areas since mid-January.

Zika has spread rapidly through the Americas over the past year. The World Health Organization declared it a global emergency in February.

The virus can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.