During the first 22 weeks of this year there were 175 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the country. Of these, 27 are women who contracted the virus during pregnancy.
The latest report from the Health Ministry released last week states that there are 107 confirmed cases of Zika virus, 67 of them in the Central Pacific canton of Garabito.
World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said part of the challenge in fighting the virus is that it is so "mysterious." Even the link to microcephaly remains not fully proven.
Costa Rica Health Ministry officials on Monday confirmed that two women from the community of Sámara, in Guanacaste province, are the first confirmed cases of locally acquired Zika virus.
Officials from several government agencies on Monday said the current situation of Zika virus in Costa Rica does not pose a risk for tourists and that there is not any travel or trade restriction related to the mosquito-borne disease.
The alarming spread of the Zika virus is looking more like a public health catastrophe. But it's also something else: The latest example of how human alterations to their environments can empower disease-carrying organisms and the viruses they bring with them.
