The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting the first confirmed case of Chikungunya virus in Iowa. Deputy State Epidemiologist Ann Garvey says a man from central Iowa recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean and became ill with the mosquito-borne virus.

The Chikungunya virus was first discovered in the 1950s in Tanzania. In recent years, the disease has spread to new parts of the world, including the Caribbean. “Imported cases” of Chikungunya have become common in the U.S.

As of last week, nearly 700 cases of Chikungunya had been reported across the U.S. and almost all occurred in people who returned from areas of the Caribbean or South America. Garvey is encouraging anyone traveling to those regions of the world to take measures to prevent mosquito bites.

Iowans are currently not at risk of getting the virus, according to Garvey, unless they visit areas of the Caribbean or South America.