Three people test positive for Zika in Yorkshire

Three people have tested positive for the Zika virus in east Yorkshire after returning to the UK from overseas.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust said the patients were carrying the infection but released no further information.

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The cases were identified in the period April 1 to June 30, according to a report from the trust's director of infection prevention and control.

According to the Yorkshire Post, infection control lead for the trust Dr Gavin Boyd, said: "There is extremely low risk of contracting Zika virus in the UK as the mosquito that transmits the virus is not present in the UK.

"A small number of cases of sexual transmission globally have been reported but the risk is very, very small. There is no specific treatment and it wears off naturally after two to seven days. After a diagnosis patients are cared for by their GPs."

In the UK, 53 people have now been treated for the Zika infection, which can cause a major birth defect called microcephaly in the babies of pregnant women.

Pregnant women are now being told to delay travelling to Florida because of the virus as summer tourists prepare to travel to the popular holiday destination during the summer.

Public Health England updated its travel advice, which reads: "The risk in Florida is considered moderate based on the number and spread of cases and their demonstrated ability to implement effective control measures for similar diseases such as dengue – a virus transmitted by the same mosquito.

"Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel to affected areas until after the pregnancy.

"At present, only a zone of about one square mile in Miami-Dade County is considered at risk of active transmission."