Zika virus cases in Alberta climb to 26
Alberta Health Services doesn't expect more cases as people travel to at-risk countries
Alberta Health confirms 26 cases of the Zika virus in the province as a result of travel from areas facing outbreaks, warning there is a low risk the disease could spread through sexual contact.
Officials say the virus is not coming from mosquitoes native to Alberta.
"There is no risk that Albertans who are in the province will get Zika virus from a mosquito because the mosquitos that transmit Zika virus do not live in Canada due to the climate," said Carolyn Ziegler from Alberta Health.
They warn sexual contact with either an infected person in or returning from regions where the Zika virus is circulating could pose a low risk of transmitting the disease.
Officials don't expect the number of cases to increase while Albertans continue to travel to at-risk areas.
"Alberta Health continues to work with the Public Health Agency of Canada to monitor the number of cases of Zika virus in Alberta," said Ziegler.
The only group needing to worry about the Zika virus are women who either are or who plan to become pregnant, said Glen Armstrong, a professor of microbiology at the University of Calgary.
"If you're not pregnant or just pregnant and infected, then there's very little risk at all," he said.
"This is a fairly mild viral infection, 80 per cent of people infected with the virus in fact don't even know they're infected. They may feel a little woozy for a day or two but that's about it."
The virus is a mosquito-borne infection that spreads to people bitten by infected insects.
If Zika spreads to a pregnant woman it can cause microcephaly in unborn babies which is a rare but serious condition causing children to be born with small heads and underdeveloped brains.
Armstrong said the virus has only been found in a type of mosquito that lives near the equator.
With files from Dave Dormer