Veronika Skyortsova, Russian health minister, stated that the infected person is a 36 year old woman who contacted the virus from Dominica Republic when she visited the country.

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“The first infection with Zika has been recorded. This is a 36-year old Russian woman who was in the Dominican Republic and came back to the Russian Federation in February,” Skvortsova told reporters at a UN briefing on Russia’s Ebola vaccine.

She added that Russian specialists have come up with an excellent methodological protocols for immediate diagnosis of Zika.

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The Zika virus which was declared a global health epidemic earlier this month by the WHO, has affected over 30 countries and has been linked to birth defects in Latin America.