A team at the University of California, San Diego found that an immune response to the virus could potentially be targeted to reduce the effects of the virus and birth defects (illustrated).

University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of putting unborn children at risk by letting August's Olympics go ahead as planned.

University of Ottawa's Amir Attaran recently wrote an article in the Harvard Public Health Review, saying the Olympics should be moved from Rio to prevent a 'full-blown global health disaster'.

Samantha Armytage revealed she has serious doubts about covering the Rio Olympics over fears of contracting or being exposed to the Zika virus, with plans to have children over the coming years

Taking to Instagram on Sunday morning, the 39-year-old Sunrise host decided to clarify herself after The Daily Telegraph reported she wants to have children 'in the next few years'.

Researchers at Washington University successfully developed two mouse models to study how Zika virus infects unborn babies, by weakening their immune systems before infection.

The patient in Rutherford County contracted the disease while traveling internationally, according to a statement released by the state's Health Department on Thursday.

Those considering holidays to southern states in the US should look at alternatives, said Professor Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

A North Queensland resident has tested positive for Zika virus after a trip to Thailand and Bali, with a team sent to a town south of Cairns to spray for mosquitoes in case the disease spreads.

Former Mets player Francisco Rodriguez (pictured) said he'd been bedridden with the disease for two weeks on a trip back home to his native Venezuela - where the virus is rampant.

The first baby with Zika-linked microcephaly was born in New Jersey to a 31-year-old woman who was visiting from Honduras. The mother contracted the virus while in Honduras.

As temperatures rise it becomes more likely, Zika-carrying Aedes mosquitoes will reach US shores. Dr Anjali Mahto reveals how wearing light clothes, losing weight and insect repellent can lessen the risk of being bitten.

The Honduran mother who delivered what is believed to be the first baby to be born with a Zika virus-related condition in the New York tri-state area has broken her silence.

More than 200 academics have now signed an open letter to the World Health Organisation calling for the Olympics to be postponed. But is it really necessary? Virus expert Dr Derek Gatherer gives his views.

Doctors from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research who treated the 24-year-old woman have now warned the virus (pictured) may well be transmitted orally through semen.

The British long-jumper has frozen samples of his sperm amid fears about the Zika virus at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio. The virus can cause birth defects and be transmitted through sex.

LG is fighting malaria and dengue in India with the power of sound waves. The South Korean firm has launched a line of TVs and an air conditioner that produce sound waves to paralyze mosquitoes.

Travel advice issued from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia have added Bali to a long list of places being affected by the Zika virus - which has been linked to birth defects.

The Zika virus has arrived to Indonesia now Australian's are being urged to reconsider holiday plans to Bali. The virus is linked to immune system disorders and deformaties in babies.

The Northern Ireland sportsman was due to compete in the sporting event in August. But he said today that it was a risk he was 'unwilling to take'.

Scientists at Imperial College London found previously exposed to the dengue virus boosts the potency of Zika, explaining why cases in Brazil, where the former is rife, have soared.

Ali Fedotowsky and fiance Kevin Manno were all set to say 'I do' in Mexico but sadly had to scrap those plans.

With the Zika virus casting a cloud hanging over the Olympics Games, several athletes have opted out with many more taking precautions. MARTHA KELNER answers the key questions...

The bacteria, called Wolbachia pipienti, is found in 60 per cent of insects globally and can be introduced to mosquitoes in the lab, the Madison School of Veterinary Medicine found.

While organizers didn't name her, Rihanna, 28, has been identified as the performer who dropped out of the festival by Colombian news outlets.

The retired swimming champion questioned whether the game's big stars, including Rory McIlroy and Jason Day, were 'not going because they just don't want to go' to Rio de Janiero in Brazil.

She said earlier in the year that she wishes to have three children with her husband Michael Miziner.

Montgomerie, who was part of the delegation which presented golf's Olympic bid in 2009, also questioned the disparity between the number of men and women to have so far withdrawn.

Gold-winning Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn has admitted that she won't be going to the Summer games in Rio, Brazil this year because she's scared of contracting the Zika virus.

The woman, who has not been identified, was infected overseas before traveling to Harris County, Texas, in order to give birth - though it is not known whether she came into the country illegally.

Imperial College London experts predict that the virus, which is rife in Brazil and other parts of South and Central America, will burn itself out in two to three years. However, it will strike again.

Has the threat of Zika ruined your summer travel plans? Don't fret! FEMAIL rounds up five unaffected destinations within the U.S. – and the perfect fashion picks to pack for each place.

A dozen staff are threatening to follow sports journalist Richard Conway (pictured) who is said to have told bosses he is bowing out of the event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Unlike most viruses - which cannot cross the protective placenta - a new study by the University of California suggests that Zika can. It is the first study to map out the two routes that the infection can take.

Until now, there has been no sign that mosquitoes carrying Zika have arrived in the continental US, but officials have warned that the possibility was looming.

These interactive maps show where people are being treated for the disease, how many patients are infected and which cities are most at risk.

The French 27-year-old was found to have traces of the virus in his semen after he came down with mild symptoms a few days after returning from Thailand.

There could be 90 million infections - at least - before the current epidemic fades, according to a US-UK research team. In Latin America alone, that could mean at least 1.6 million infected pregnant women.

Scientists at Yale University have calculated only three to 37 people will bring the mosquito-borne disease back to their countries - in a worst-case scenario.

Fears of a Zika virus outbreak in Florida have been raised after the first reports of the disease in the US. The virus was found in the southern counties of Miami-Dade and Broward.

Pregnant Deiseane Santiago, 22, originally from Sao Paulo in Brazil, came to Britain last November on a five-month visitor visa to spend time with 26-year-old fiance Simon Ellis (pictured).

The woman, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, caught Zika on a trip to Suriname, which borders Brazil. The virus was found in foetal cells after she lost the baby.

Florida governor Rick Scott confirmed that all four of the state's mystery Zika cases almost certainly came from local mosquito bites. They mark the first outbreak of the infection in mainland America.

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.

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.

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.