By Sarah Peter CASTRIES, St. Lucia, (Reuters) – A man and a woman in the Caribbean country of St. Lucia have locally contracted the Zika virus, which has been linked to hundreds of cases of a rare birth defect in Brazil, the first infections by the mosquito-borne virus in the island nation, its health ministry said on Thursday. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has confirmed the cases, the Ministry of Health said at a news conference, noting that the individuals had no history of recent travel to a Zika affected country. “We have increased our surveillance within our health system to ensure the timely diagnosis,” said Sharon Belmar George, senior medical officer at the ministry.
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St. Lucia confirms first two cases of Zika, contracted locally