Pentagon says 33 US servicemen and women have contracted Zika abroad

The Pentagon has announced that over 30 of US servicemen and women
have contracted Zika.

The virus - which can cause serious birth defects - has hit countries
in Latin America but there have already been more than1,600 reported
cases of Zika in the US.

Our US correspondent Laura Cantekin reports.

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U.S. President Barack Obama says his government is taking the Zika epidemic very seriously.

At the Pentagon, he confirmed that a more than 40 U.S. service members have contracted Zika, in addition to the 15 domestically-transmitted cases in Miami

The American president wants the U.S. Congress to fully fund efforts to stop the spread of Zika.

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