Bangladesh has detected a cluster of Zika virus cases for the first time, in a worrying development in a country that is already struggling to contain the Aedes mosquito-borne dengue virus.

Although Zika virus infection is rarely fatal in healthy individuals, it poses a significant threat to pregnant women, as it can cause severe fetal complications such as microcephaly, leading to an increased risk of infant mortality and intellectual disability in the infant.

Not only through mosquitoes, the disease can also spread via sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, mother-to-child transmission, and non-sexual physical contact.