Jamaica issues pregnancy alert due to Zika virus

Jamaica's Health Ministry issued a statement Monday to advise female nationals to delay pregnancy for the next six to twelve months due to the imminent threat of the Zika virus.

Those already pregnant were asked to take extra precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes which transmit the disease.

The ministry believed there are links between being infected with the Zika virus and microcephaly, a disease causing babies to have underdeveloped brains.

"Zika is inching closer and closer to Jamaica as several of our Caribbean neighbors have reported cases. Women are therefore being advised to delay pregnancy ... as the unborn baby is at high risk if the mother is infected," Health Minister Horace Dalley said.

Zika, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has symptoms including fever, muscle and joint pain, headache, nausea and rash.

Last November, the Caribbean Public Health Agency announced the official arrival of the virus in the Caribbean countries following five cases identified in the region. Endi