The worst fears of one Queensland family have been realised after a pregnant woman tested positive for the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the state’s south-east on Tuesday.

Health authorities revealed that she had recently returned from overseas, but the department would not indicate what country she had visited.

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“This is not a locally acquired case of the virus,” Queensland Health said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that they would not be releasing any further information on the woman.

The diagnosis arrives as authorities brace for a local outbreak of the virus.

Zika has surged through Latin America and has been linked to birth defects in children in the region.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in newborns marked by abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly.

Click here for everything you need to know about Zika virus

Tuesday’s confirmation followed two recent cases in the state, following a child returning from Samoa, and a Gold Coast woman who contracted it during a 2015 trip to El Salvador. She was originally identified as having an “unspecified flavivirus infection”, until the diagnosis was confirmed.

An adult recently returning from Tonga was a “probable case”.

But it wasn’t only Queensland, which had 13 confirmed cases since 2014, that was affected.

A man and a woman in Sydney were infected after travelling to Central America, as was a West Australian adult, in a separate case.

Central American countries, like Honduras, are attempting to control infected insects. Photo: Getty

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak an international emergency, and indicated it would increase monitoring efforts.

It said there should not be any travel restrictions imposed.

Officials monitoring Torres Strait

Mosquitoes found in tropical and sub-tropical environments carried the virus, putting Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia at risk of harbouring it.

All Aussie cases so far were not believed to be contracted from local insects.

Queensland’s Health Minister Cameron Dick told reporters on Monday the government was monitoring coastal areas for any sign of the virus.

“We’ll monitor closely through the Torres Strait. We already do that with a number of infectious diseases,” he said.

“That would possibly be one path of entry into Queensland.

“My advice is that it’s not a significant risk to Queensland at this time.”

Cure years away

A council worker fumigates a home against Zika carrying mosquitoes in Mexico. Photo: Getty

A vaccine for the Zika virus is still years away, US health officials have warned.

Those who are infected are instructed not to travel to north Queensland, where the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in that area could bite them and begin transmitting the virus locally.

Zika virus most often only causes a mild illness, though it has been linked to microcephaly.

Brazil has reported nearly 4000 suspected cases of microcephaly and the World Health Organisation has declared the virus an international health emergency.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, has urged pregnant Queensland women not to travel to places where there have been Zika outbreaks.

Pregnant women who have recently travelled to areas affected and suffered an illness they suspect to be Zika are advised to see a doctor.

The federal government has compiled a full list of the relevant countries.

– with ABC and AAP