CDC confirms sexually transmitted Zika virus case in Texas

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported by local health officials in Texas on Tuesday.

Dr Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later Tuesday confirmed in an email the case of sexually transmitted infection reported earlier in Texas.

You’ve probably heard by now that Zika virus, a disease recently dubbed a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), can be contracted from mosquito bites. “Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against sexually transmitted infections”. Zika, first thought of as a disease spread by mosquitoes, has now been spread through sexual contact.

Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) has confirmed that a patient in its county got Zika viru through sexual contact.

The Zika virus is now spreading through all but one country in Central America and most of South America, as well as territories such as Puerto Rico. These symptoms could last for a few days or up to week and will usually occur within a few days of becoming infected.

While Thompson told the television station that the case of sexual transmission is “a game-changer”, he added that he didn’t want people in Dallas County to overreact. Wisconsin Division of Public Health epidemiologist Diep Hoang Johnson said this week that pregnant women should avoid travel to the affected regions.

For most people, Zika virus doesn’t cause much worse than a week of rash, fever, and conjunctivitis.

Zika had been linked to mosquito bites and was mostly prevalent in developing countries in the Americas. “The person later tested positive for Zika, along with their sexual partner, who had not traveled to the area”, the CDC said in a statement.

The virus is usually spread by mosquito bites, health experts say.

Although more than 30 Americans have been diagnosed with Zika, these have largely been travel-related cases, which pose a relatively low risk for spreading. A man and an older woman had both independently visited countries where the virus has already been reported. The virus’s spread has been particularly substantial in Brazil. Babies born with microcephaly have unusually small heads and brains.