Zika infections are down substantially this year, including a 56 percent drop in New York from the same time last year, USA Today reported Wednesday.

There has not been a case of local Zika transmission in the U.S. discovered this year, compared to 224 cases alone in South Florida and southern Texas.

"That's an encouraging sign; people's fear is that it had the potential to spread here," said Dr. Paul Graman, Clinical Director of the Infectious Disease Division at Strong Memorial Hospital and Golisano Childrens' Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.

The Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The peak mosquito season in the U.S. only recently started, though, with the first locally transmitted cases in Florida last year reported in July. Miami Dade-County was previously designated as a Zika cautionary area but that designation was removed June 2. Brownsville, Texas, is a Zika cautionary area and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said pregnant women should consider postponing travel to the area.

"CDC expects Zika virus will continue to circulate at low levels in most regions where it has been introduced," said Benjamin Haynes, a spokesman for the CDC. "Anyone living in or traveling to areas with risk of Zika may be at risk for infection."

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