Zika virus: Baby with microcephaly dies in Texas

The Zika cases reported by The Yard were collected by the Department of Health last Thursday, the release says. Just this afternoon, we learned there is one more case of Zika virus not related to travel in South Florida.

The reports of insecticide success in Miami were the second bit of recent good news on the Zika front in the United States.

The people in both cases acquired the virus while traveling.

“The risk of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in North Carolina transmitting Zika virus is very low”, said State Public Health Veterinarian Carl Williams, DVM.

The county’s first case, reported July 5, involved a southwest Riverside County man who got sick after returning from the Caribbean. This count includes the two infants with microcephaly from Harris County. The best way to prevent Zika is to avoid travel to areas where active transmission is present. There have been no reported cases of Zika virus disease transmitted by mosquitoes in Texas, but Texas is on alert for the possibility local transmission. Microcephaly is a birth defect linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus where infants are born with abnormally small heads.

Rios recommends women who are having intercourse while pregnant to use condoms for the duration of their pregnancies. To receive the free mosquito repellent, eligible women must be enrolled Medicaid, CHIP, CHIP-Perinate, Healthy Texas Women, or the Family Planning program. Illness may develop in 20 percent of infected people within three to seven days after a bite from an infected mosquito.

What we’re reading, August 10, 2016: mortality rate in the United States declines after 2015’s increase; infant death in Texas linked to Zika virus; and OH colleges drop student health insurance due to Obamacare provisions.

The CDPH stated the agency has a team of experts across several fields working in conjunction with local public health departments, vector control agencies and the medical community to respond aggressively and timely to the emerging threat of Zika virus. “Keeping you safe is my top priority as your governor”, said Abbott.