Six US pregnant women test positive for Zika

Washington, June 16: Six pregnant women in Texas were tested positive for Zika, the first cases of the mosquito-borne disease to be reported in the US this year.

The spokesman of Legacy Community Health on Thursday said that all of the women have since delivered their babies, but it is not yet known if any of the children were born with the birth defects that can be caused by the virus, reports Xinhua news agency.

The women were initially tested at the Legacy Community Health, a southeast Texas network of clinics.

Legacy announced that the Centres for Disease Control has confirmed the positive tests in the women, all of whom contracted the virus while travelling south of the border.

Ann Barnes, Legacy's chief medical officer said in the statement: "The threat of Zika is lower this year than last in our hemisphere, but as our six latest cases show, pregnant women in Texas should remain vigilant."