Texas reports first case of Zika likely from local
mosquitoes
Aedes aegypti
mosquitoes are seen at the Laboratory of Entomology and Ecology of the Dengue
Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in San Juan
(Copyright Reuters 2016)
Texas officials announced Monday that a woman who
tested positive for the Zika virus is likely the first case transmitted by a
mosquito in the state.
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The woman lives in the Rio Grande Valley’s Cameron
County on the far southeastern tip of Texas on the Gulf Coast and Mexican
border, according to Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the
Cameron County Department of Health and Human Services.
The patient said she has not been in Mexico or
anywhere else with ongoing Zika virus transmissions.
State officials and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) are working to determine exactly how and where the
transmission occurred. Officials said they are continuing surveillance for the
disease but at the moment they don’t believe anyone else in the area was
affected through local transmission.
Laboratory tests found the virus in the patient’s
urine but not in her blood, meaning a mosquito can no longer bite her and
spread the disease further.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before we saw a
Zika case spread by a mosquito in Texas,” Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS
commissioner, said in a news release. “We still don’t believe the virus will become
widespread in Texas, but there could be more cases, so people need to protect
themselves from mosquito bites, especially in parts of the state that stay
relatively warm in the fall and winter.”
Cameron County and City of Brownsville Health
officials have been trapping and testing mosquitos in the area, as well as
conducting an environmental assessment of the patient’s home. They’ve also
sprayed for mosquitos and will take other steps to reduce the area’s mosquito
population.
County health workers will go door to door starting
Monday evening to educate the public about Zika, to help get rid of breeding
habitats, and to conduct voluntary tests to determine if there are more
infections.
The DSHS said there are multiple towns on the Mexican
side of the border where mosquitos are spreading Zika. They urge pregnant women
to avoid travel in Mexico and avoid sexual contact with partners who have
traveled there. The most common symptoms for Zika are fever, itchy rash, join
pain and eye redness.
Although the case is in Cameron County, the DSHS is
recommending that pregnant women in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Webb, Willacy and
Zapata Counties also get tested for Zika; whether or not they’ve traveled to an
area prone to transmissions. They also suggest statewide testing for anyone
with three or more symptoms.
Until last week, there had been 257 confirmed Zika
cases in Texas. All cases were associated with travel, including two infants
whose mothers traveled during their pregnancy and who had sexual contact with
infected travelers.
Ray Bogan is a Fox News multimedia reporter based in
El Paso, Texas. Follow him on twitter: @RayBogan
By Ray Bogan
Published November 28, 2016
FoxNews.com
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