First Zika-Related Death Confirmed in Continental US

Officials have confirmed the first Zika-related death in the continental United States, CNN reported.

Health officials told CNN that an unidentified Salt Lake County, Utah, man who died in June, tested positive for the virus. They have not yet determined the cause of death.

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"This person had an underlying medical condition and tested positive for Zika, so we know it contributed to [the death], but we don't know that it was the sole cause [of death]," Salt Lake County Department of Health medical director Dr. Dagmar Vitek said in a news release obtained by CNN. "It may not be possible to determine how the Zika infection contributed to the death."

Health department executive director Gary Edwards told CNN that the virus was not confirmed until after the man had died and his death certificate was reviewed.

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The elderly man had visited a location where the virus is spreading, CNN reported.

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