Fifty-three cases of the Zika virus have now been reported in Britain, health officials have revealed. It is thought that all of those affected by the virus had recently travelled back from abroad.

Public Health England has advised pregnant women to scrap non-essential trips to Florida, United States, after the country's first cases of the Zika virus not linked to travel have been discovered.

The Zika virus could soon be spreading to  Louisiana and Texas, warned a tropical medical expert, after four patients in Florida have tested positive for the virus.

Australian team boss Kitty Chiller confirmed on Monday a laptop and some Zika-protective shirts were stolen during a fire evacuation on Friday when a blaze was sparked by a cigarette.

From furious protests over government corruption to the Zika epidemic, the road to Rio has been beset with problems, but locals have said visitors can expect a warm welcome.

Public Health England advised pregnant tourists to cancel non-essential travel to Florida and said men and women should abstain from sex without a condom while they are on holiday.

While Zika is in the spotlight, there are other bugs and health problems that Olympic athletes and spectators should keep in mind. Here's look at what athletes and travelers can do about them.

Health officials said all 15 are within the same one-mile region of Miami, just in-land of the beach.

The 'killer' gene, that could dramatically alter the course of the Zika virus in America, shortens the life of the insects' young and should make the population crash, halting the spread of the disease.

American goalkeeper Hope Solo was heavily booed during Team USA's opening soccer match in the Rio Olympics.

Ryan Seacrest arrived in Rio de Janeiro just days ago as he is set to host Friday's Olympic opening ceremony.

Brazil should have seen thousands more babies born with shrunken skulls. But all of these cases are restricted to a northern region of the country. It suggests Zika alone may not cause birth defects.

The news means 13 babies have now been born with the condition in the United States since the Zika epidemic began last year.

The news will bring relief to health officials in Zika-infected Miami after fears the insects had grown a resistance to insecticide.

Public Health England released a statement following reports of three people in West Yorkshire being treated for the virus after returning from overseas. It said the risk to the general public is low.

The athletes who have decided to attend may be competing under the arms of Christ the Redeemer, but it’s hard to find one redeeming feature to the Olympic Games in Rio, writes KATIE HOPKINS.

Herbalists and witch doctors in Rio de Janeiro say star athletes who skipped this year's Olympic Games shouldn't have worried about contracting Zika while in Brazil.

The patient, who has not been identified, was tested as one of the 26 close contacts around the two original cases. It means there are now 16 local transmissions of Zika in Miami, Florida.

Normally, two thirds of US citizens oppose abortions after 24 weeks. But a Harvard poll has found that 59 per cent favor abortions of Zika-infected babies at any stage of the pregnancy.

More than 90 people have contracted the infection in just one month - a staggering figure for the 1.4 million-strong state in such a short amount of time. Hawaii is also battling Zika.

Christine Curry teaches and practices obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami Hospital. So far she has treated over a dozen pregnant women with Zika, with many more expected.

It is not yet clear whether they Palm Beach County resident contracted the infection from Palm Beach mosquitoes or from insects during a recent trip to Miami, Florida, where there is a Zika outbreak.

As insecticide rained down on a popular district in Miami, state health officials began to investigate Palm Beach County's first case of non-travel related Zika, Gov Rick Scott's office announced Monday.

It is the biggest one-day spike in diagnoses to date as the city struggles to control the virus. The development means there are now 21 people being treated for local transmission of the virus.

Fearing the worst during an outbreak of Zika virus, pregnant Emily was banned from travelling to the US with the rest of the family as Peter went abroad with Princess and Junior.

An Australian photographer in Rio covering the 2016 Olympic Games has become the latest robbery victim with $40,000 of camera gear stolen in a sting led by a woman.

Torrential rain and high winds became the latest misfortune to hit the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with rowing events canceled and other athletes including cyclists forced to cope with the bad weather.

The study by the University of Southern California is the most significant step towards understanding the infection amid widespread confusion about how it inflicts life-threatening conditions in babies.

Until now scientists believed the virus would fade after three months. But this week an Italian man tested positive for Zika 188 days after he was first infected.

The condition known as arthrogryposis freezes up joints, often leaving their hands, arms, legs, feet, or fingers frozen in a contorted position. In most cases, it also impairs function of the heart.

The star took to Twitter on Saturday after many were put off by a Snapchat story she shared earlier in which her mom Dianna Hart joked, 'Everybody down in Rio gonna get the Zika virus!'

European governments have warned their citizens about gun violence after a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub (pictured), while advice has also been issued for LGBT travellers.

Taekwondo star Jade, 23, today launches her bid to defend the Gold medal she won at London 2012, supported by her family including grandfather Martin Foulkes.

My family and I were due to fly to Florida on the 27th August but following medical advice we decided we shouldn't go because I'm pregnant. Now Virgin is refusing to refund us.

The billboards - paid for by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and erected in and around Fort Lauderdale - showed a condom with the words 'Prevents Zika transmission' inside it.

The mosquito-borne infection arrived in the US last month, but has so far been restricted to a few blocks in Wynwood, a neighborhood of Miami-Dade County.

This summer families have been warned to protect children with bug spray and clothing. But now the onus falls on teachers to protect the 7,600 students attending school in the two outbreak zones.

A patient has been diagnosed with Zika in Pinellas County. The area just outside Tampa is 265 miles away from Miami on the other side of the peninsula from the original outbreak zone.

Alice Rowland, 28, from Northampton, attempted to cancel her and 26-year-old partner Jefferson George’s flights to Dominica after her doctor advised her against travelling.

So far 483 people in New York City have been diagnosed with Zika, and 49 of those were pregnant at the time of their diagnosis.

The move, ordered by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, is a major expansion in a bid intended to protect the nation's blood supply from the mosquito-borne virus.

The discovery by Florida State University has been hailed as a medical breakthrough as federal regulators race to find treatment for the infection, which is spreading through the US.

The finding makes clear the need for pesticide programs that kill both adult mosquitoes and their eggs. Current methods are not adequate, warns study co-author Dr Robert Tesh of the University of Texas.

Zabina Mirza was due to travel with Thomson Airways to Orlando but decided to cancel her trip after the outbreak of the virus but says the alternatives offered were not suitable.

Hermine made landfall in Florida early Friday as a Category 1 hurricane with forecasters warning as much as 20 inches of rain on Thursday.

Until now, scientists have tentatively suggested that there may be a link between the virus and Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune condition when the body attacks itself after an infection.

Previous advice published on June 7 only urged men to abstain, and only for a maximum of eight weeks.

Even with pre-clinical and early stage clinical trials underway, we still may not see a Zika vaccine licensed and approved for use in humans for years.

Researchers studied 11 babies diagnosed with Zika and found they had a range of neurological impairments aside from microcephaly that cause life-long neurological damage.

Researchers at Glasgow University have been able to shed more light on how the Zika virus works by sequencing the full-length genome of the virus from a patient in Brazil.