Bahamas reports 1st Zika case; says it was contracted abroad

In this Jan. 18, 2016, file photo, a female Aedes aegypti mosquito, known to be a carrier of the Zika virus, acquires a blood meal on the arm of a researcher at the Biomedical Sciences Institute of Sao Paulo University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

NASSAU, Bahamas – Authorities in the Bahamas are reporting the archipelago's first Zika case and say it was contracted elsewhere.

The health minister, Dr. Michael Perry, said Wednesday that the patient is a man who recently traveled to Jamaica. He says the man lives on New Providence island, where the Bahamas capital of Nassau is located.

Zika causes a mild illness in most people but can lead to severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy.

The mosquito-borne virus has been spreading across the Americas since last year.