First Zika Case In WA Confirmed

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — State health officials say they have confirmed the first case of Zika virus in Washington state.

The Washington State Department of Health received confirmation Monday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a Mason County man in his 20s is the first person in the state to test positive for the virus.

Officials say the man visited a Thurston County hospital after traveling to the South Pacific.

Zika has been spreading through Brazil, but is also being transmitted in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

The mosquito-borne virus causes no more than a mild illness in most people but has been linked to severe birth defects.

President Barack Obama Monday sent lawmakers an official $1.9 billion request to combat the spread of the Zika virus in Latin America and the U.S.