By AAP and RACHEL EDDIE and LUCY THACKRAY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Two Sydney residents diagnosed with mosquito-borne Zika virus
The infection was detected on Friday, NSW Health confirmed on Tuesday
They had recently returned from travels in the Caribbean
Mosquitos capable of carrying Zika have also been found in Sydney
Two Sydney locals have been diagnosed with the Zika virus after returning from travels in the Caribbean following a global outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus.
The virus was detected in the two people on Friday, NSW Health confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday, after the pair returned home from Haiti.
‘It is very unlikely that Zika virus will establish local transmission in NSW as the mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) that spread the infection are not established here – although they are found in some parts of north Queensland,’ the NSW Health statement said.

However, it has been reported that mosquitos capable of carrying the virus have been detected at Sydney International Airport.
The Federal Department of Agriculture has since stepped up spraying procedures on international plane arrivals.
It is recommended that pregnant women or those who could become pregnant avoid travel in affected areas.
There is no vaccine against the mosquito-borne virus.
Queensland’s Health Minister Cameron Dick says monitoring is under way in the remote northern region to ensure it is detected early, should it arrive.
‘We’ll monitor closely through the Torres Strait. We already do that with a number of infectious diseases,’ he told reporters in Gladstone on Monday.
‘That would possibly be one path of entry into Queensland.’
Mr Dick has sought a briefing from the state’s chief health officer.
‘My advice is that it’s not a significant risk to Queensland at this time,’ he said.
‘But we’re going to continue to monitor that.’
Mr Dick indicated he may raise the need for a co-ordinated, federal response depending on what the briefing said.
He said the virus was carried by mosquitoes that were present in tropical and sub-tropical environments and that meant Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia could wind up being pathways for the disease.
A 27-year-old Australian man is believed to have contracted Zika in Bali last year after he was bitten by a monkey.
He was diagnosed at the Royal Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory after he presented with fever and a rash, according to a report from May 2015.
His illness came seven days after he was bitten by a monkey at Bali’s Ubud Monkey Forest, although the 27-year-old was also bitten by mosquitoes during his trip.
In 2014, four cases of Zika virus infection were diagnosed in NSW in people who had recently travelled from Cook Islands.
In 2015, there was one additional case diagnosed in NSW in a returned traveller from Solomon Islands.
Another Australian woman is believed to have contracted the Zika virus in Jakarta, according to a 2013 report.
The 52-year-old woman was diagnosed with Dengue fever after returning to Australia and is understood to have been the first case of the Zika virus infection reported in a ‘returned traveller’ in Australia.
Zika virus has been linked to severe birth defects and is spreading quickly through the Americas, and many southeast Asian nations are braced for outbreaks.
‘Transmission of Zika virus by monkey bite or other (non-mosquito) routes, and attribution of illness to dengue or other infections, may be more frequent than the absence of prior reports suggests,’ says the report, published in the Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health in May 2015.
The World Health Organization is preparing to hold a meeting to decide whether the Zika virus outbreak should be considered a global emergency.
It’s understood the misdiagnosis of cases of Zika virus occurred as the symptoms are similar to those suffered with conditions such as dengue fever.
The UN health agency warned last week that the mosquito-borne disease was ‘spreading explosively’ in the Americas, with the region expected to see up to four million cases this year.
Now there are fears the warm weather system El Nino will fuel the outbreak by increasing the mosquito population.
Brazil sounded the alarm in October, when a rash of microcephaly cases, a devastating condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain, emerged in the northeast.
Since then, there have been 270 confirmed cases and 3,448 suspected cases, up from 147 in 2014.
There are also growing fears for the Rio Olympics in August, with female athletes saying they may not compete over concerns of contracting the illness.
The WHO has set up an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to examine Zika and will meet on Monday to decide whether it constitutes a global emergency on the scale of Ebola.
WHAT IS ZIKA?
The Zika (ZEE’-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 – its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.
It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It appeared in Brazil last year and has since been seen in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands.
HOW IS IT SPREAD?
It is transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.
It is not known to spread from person to person.
Investigators, though, are exploring the possibility that the virus can be passed on through sex – it was found in one man’s semen in Tahiti and there’s been another report of possible spread of the virus through sex.
Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito.
ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?
Experts think most people infected with Zika virus don’t get sick.
And those that do usually develop mild symptoms – fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes – which usually last no more than a week.
There is no specific medicine and there hasn’t been a vaccine developed for it, which is the case for some other tropical illnesses that cause periodic outbreaks.
GLAXO CONSIDERING USING VACCINE TECHNOLOGY FOR ZIKA
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is concluding feasibility studies evaluating whether its vaccine technology is suitable for the Zika virus, a spokeswoman has confirmed.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which typically causes mild fevers and rashes, although about 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms.
‘We’re concluding our feasibility studies as quickly as we can to see if our vaccine technology platforms might be suitable for working on Zika,’ a Glaxo spokeswoman said in an email.
She declined to provide details but added that vaccine development typically takes 10 to 15 years.
WHY IS IT A CONCERN NOW?
In Brazil, there has been mounting evidence linking Zika infection in pregnant women to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn’s head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly.
Brazilian health officials last October noticed a spike in cases of microcephaly in tandem with the Zika outbreak.
The connection to Zika is still being investigated, and officials note there are many causes of the condition. Nearly 4,000 cases have been recorded.
Meanwhile, doctors have noted increased reports of a nerve condition called Guillain-Barre that can cause paralysis.
But the link to the Zika virus is not clear; other infections can spark the problem, including dengue fever.
CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?
Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants – especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.
Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus.
HAVE THERE BEEN CASES IN THE US?
Yes, but in tourists. Since 2007 there have been more than two dozen cases diagnosed in the US all travellers who are believed to have caught it overseas.
(Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have each had a recent case that didn’t involve a traveler.)
The World Health Organisation says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region, people aren’t immune to it, and the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere – including along the southern United States.
The kind of mosquito that spreads Zika is found along the southern states, so experts think it’s likely the pests may end up spreading the virus there.
But officials also have said Zika infections probably won’t be a big problem in the US for a number of reasons, including the more common use of air conditioning and door and window screens.
Recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya – carried by the same mosquito – suggest any Zika outbreaks may be relatively small, said Dr. Lyle Petersen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL ADVISORIES?
US health officials recommend that pregnant women should consider postponing trips to 22 destinations. Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. In the Caribbean: Barbados, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Martin and Puerto Rico. Also, Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific.
In Brazil, most of the mothers who had babies with microcephaly were apparently infected during the first trimester, but there is some evidence the birth defect can occur later in the pregnancy, CDC officials say.
The travel alert applies to women in any stage of pregnancy.
IMAGES:
Two Sydney locals have been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne Zika virus after travelling to the Caribbean
Alice Bezerra, who has microcephaly, is held by her mother Nadja Cristina Gomes Bezerra in Recife, Brazil. It’s understood the Zika virus can lead to microcephaly in infants
Alice Bezerra, who has microcephaly, is held by her mother Nadja Cristina Gomes Bezerra in Recife, Brazil. It’s understood the Zika virus can lead to microcephaly in infants
The WHO has set up an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to examine Zika and will meet on Monday to decide whether it constitutes a global emergency on the scale of Ebola
The WHO has set up an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to examine Zika and will meet on Monday to decide whether it constitutes a global emergency on the scale of Ebola
In the last four months, authorities have recorded close to 4,000 cases in Brazil in which the mosquito-borne Zika virus may have led to microcephaly in infants
At present, there are no vaccines, specific treatments or rapid diagnostic tests for it. Above a city worker in Santa Tecla, El Salvador fumigates a neighborhood on January 29
According to the United Nations , El Nino can cause an ‘increase in vector-borne diseases including dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus due to increased mosquito vectors.’ Above a worker fumigates a neighborhood in Managua, Nicaragua on January 28
An Australian became ill with Zika virus seven days after he was bitten by a monkey at a Bali Monkey Forest
The 27-year-old man was diagnosed with acute Zika virus at the Royal Darwin Hospital in Australia’s North Territory after he presented with fever and a rash after his Bali holiday, according to the report from May 2015
An Aedes Aegypti mosquito on human skin in a lab in Cali, Colombia. Scientists there are studying the genetics and biology of this mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus
The World Health Organisation says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region and people are not immune to it. Furthermore, the Aedes aegypti mosquito (pictured) that carries it is just extremely widespread
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which typically causes mild fevers and rashes, although about 80 per cent of those infected show no symptoms
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