Sexually-transmitted Zika virus case confirmed in Texas

Alarm over the Zika virus spread today, as public health officials investigated a report that an American had been infected through sexual contact and Brazil said 4,074 cases of infants with severe birth defects could be linked to the virus.

“They pick up the virus from a human who is infected, it grows inside the mosquito, and the next time it lays more eggs it passes on that virus to the next person”, said Townsend.

The governor of Florida put the emergency into effect in four counties, including Miami-Dade.

The only difference, Dr Young noted, was Zika patients often showed very mild symptoms, making cases harder to detect. The department said testing of several samples from others in the state who have traveled to Zika-infected areas are ongoing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus‎ transmission.

The virus is transmitted mainly through the bite of the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito. The agency asked donors who give blood and subsequently develop symptoms consistent with Zika within 14 days to notify the Red Cross so the product can be quarantined. Travelers with fever, rash, joint pain and pink eye will want to protect against bites for one to two weeks after returning. “If a pregnant woman is infected through sex, this would likely have the same risk as mosquito-acquired disease”, says Sankar Swaminathan, M.D.

Chairman of Bharat Biotech Krishna Ella (Left) announces the Bharat Biotech Program on the Zika virus at a press conference in Hyderabad on February 3, 2016.

In a similar fashion, on Tuesday, a man from Texas whose partner had recently returned from Venezuela received the Zika virus from his partner. Adalja says it’s a preventive measure because Florida has seen cases of dengue fever and the chikungunya virus, which are spread similarly to the Zika virus.

The Sun-Sentinel reported that more than five million worldwide visitors came to central Florida in 2014, with 1.9 million of them from South America, primarily Brazil, where the virus is widespread.

“Cases of microcephaly do increase sharply during an epidemic of the Zika virus disease”.

“We believe the association is guilty until proven innocent”, he said, referring to the connection drawn in Brazil between the Zika virus and microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads.

The WHO warned European countries to act early to stop Zika spreading.

Argentina’s health authorities reported a second Zika case on Wednesday.