Zika Virus

The health ministry said the woman had recently returned from Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.

Zika, which is spreading through the Americas, has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly condition, linked to the mosquito-borne virus, a global public health emergency.

Health Minister Saia Piukala said three New Zealand-based Tongans who travelled to the islands for a holiday had returned home and also tested positive.

Dr Piukala said the 265 suspected cases were from those who had sought treatment for acute fever, skin rashes and flu-like symptoms.

He said 35 specimens had been sent overseas for further analysis.

The government had launched an awareness campaign and was trying to destroy potential mosquito breeding areas.

Dr Piukala said schools had been closing for one day at a time throughout the kingdom.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a patient was infected in Dallas County, health officials in Texas said.

A patient was apparently infected after having sexual contact with someone who returned from a country where the disease is present.

There is not yet evidence of Zika being passed on by mosquitoes in the US.

This would be the first known infection to take place in the mainland US.

The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency.

Most will not develop symptoms, but the virus, spread by mosquitoes, has been linked to brain defects in babies.

Meanwhile the US says it hopes to start vaccine trials in people by the end of the year.

WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said Zika had gone "from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions".

She has set up a Zika "emergency team" after the "explosive" spread of the virus.

It will meet on Monday to decide whether Zika should be treated as a global emergency.

The virus is linked to shrunken brains in unborn children, leading to severe brain damage or death.

It has spread to more than 20 countries, and has caused panic in Brazil where thousands of people have been infected.

There is currently no vaccine or cure, and diagnostic testing is difficult.

The search for a vaccine is being led by scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

They have visited Brazil to carry out research and collect samples, and are now analysing them in a suite of high-security laboratories in Galveston.