BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Barbados has recorded its first three cases of the Zika virus.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health said of the eight samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing, three were positive and five negative for the virus.

The Zika infection is a mild, febrile viral illness transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is the same mosquito, which causes dengue fever and chikungunya.

The main symptoms are fever, conjunctivitis, temporary arthritis, mainly in the small joints of the hands and feet, and a rash that often starts on the face and spreads throughout the body. In general, symptoms are mild and last between two and seven days.

The Ministry of Health has advised the public that the best way to prevent infection is to minimise exposure to mosquito bites by taking preventive measures to reduce mosquito breeding.

A Ministry official pointed out that persons might be unaware that they have the virus, as they might not develop any symptoms.

“Therefore, everyone, including pregnant women and women of childbearing age, is advised to avoid exposure to mosquito bites,” said a release from the Ministry.

Preliminary analysis of research carried out by Brazilian authorities has revealed that the greatest risks of microcephaly (small heads) and malformations appear to be associated with infection during the first three months of pregnancy.

In the western hemisphere the local transmission of the virus is now present in 16 Western Hemisphere countries and territories – Brazil, Barbados, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.