TRENTON -- A baby was born Tuesday at Hackensack University Medical Center with a birth defect associated with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, hospital officials confirmed.

The infant girl was diagnosed with microcephaly, a neurological condition associated with an abnormally small head and lifelong disabilities, according to Manny Alvarez, chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hackensack.

The child's 31-year-old mother was exposed to the virus in her native Honduras, Alvarez said.

The baby was delivered by C-section at 3 p.m. at the Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital, which is part of Hackensack's campus, the physician said.

"The mother, who is visiting the United States, is receiving exceptional care during this difficult time and we appreciate everyone respecting the mother's privacy," according to a statement from hospital spokesman Nancy Radwin Tuesday night.

The baby's mother had been receiving prenatal care in Honduras, Alvarez said. The baby's grandmother, a microbiologist, noticed her daughter had developed a rash from mosquito bites and sent a sample of her daughter's blood to the the CDC. The test confirmed the expectant mother had been exposed to the Zika virus, he said.

On Friday, during a visit to extended family in New Jersey, the pregnant woman came to the hospital for an assessment, Alvarez said. "We quickly identified through the high-risk unit (the baby) was small for her size and microcephalic," he said.

When the woman returned to the hospital Tuesday for more tests, the doctors determined the baby was "in distress" and a cesarian section was required, he said.

The baby was born at 36 weeks, Alvarez said. "She is a beautiful little girl," he said.

The baby's mother said she wants all women who are pregnant or could become pregnant to pay closer attention to the threat of Zika, Alvarez said.

She said "I used to look at the billboards in my country about Zika, and I never realized it was gong to be me," Alvarez said. "She wants pregnant women to know that Zika is real and you should take precautions."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged pregnant women to avoid traveling to more than a dozen countries in South and Central America, along with the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, where the virus is prevalent.

A woman visiting Bergen County from Colombia in January was the first confirmed case of the Zika illness in New Jersey, according to the state Department of Health.

The baby born at Hackensack Tuesday is not the first child to be born in the U.S. with Zika-related birth defects. State health officials in Hawaii reported the birth of child with microcephaly at a hospital in Oahu in January. It is believed that the mother who gave birth in Hawaii contracted the virus in Brazil.

Mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus are expected to arrive in N.J. in July, according to a entomologist and director of the Invasive and Emerging Disease Vectors Laboratory at Rutgers University.

The virus also may be transmitted through sexual intercourse with a partner carrying the virus, according to the CDC. In most people Zika causes only a mild illness lasting just a few days, but for unborn babies, the impact can be catastrophic.

There is no vaccine or cure for Zika.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.