Pregnant Spanish woman infected by Zika

The ongoing Zika epidemic took a new turn on Thursday as Spanish officials announced that one of seven infected people was pregnant.

"One of the patients diagnosed in Catalonia is a pregnant woman, who showed symptoms after having travelled to Colombia," the country's Health Ministry said in a statement.

Officials said the woman is currently under medical supervision and is in stable condition.

The ministry also said the number of cases of Zika so far do not pose a serious risk of an epidemic spreading throughout the country.

New precautions as fear spreads

The report came the same day the World Health Organization (WHO) advised countries not to accept blood donations from people who have traveled to the affected countries, the AFP news agency reported.

Both Canada and Great Britain have said people returning from those countries will need to wait specific amounts of time before donating blood.

Zika, which is spread primarily by mosquitoes, has spread to 26 countries in North and South America, as well as parts of the Caribbean. The virus has been linked to birth defects and brain damage in babies born from mothers who had been infected by the disease.

blc/sms (AP, AFP)