First US Zika Virus Transmission Reported, Sexual Transmission Cited

AUSTIN, TEXAS:  The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it was contracted through sexual contact and not the bite of a mosquito, a day after the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency. Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case in Dallas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Dallas County health official said in a tweet that the case was transmitted through sexual contact with someone who had traveled to Venezuela. The person infected did not travel to the South American country, county health officials said. County authorities said there were no reports of the virus being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in the Texas county. A CDC spokesman confirmed the results of a test for Zika infection but said local officials investigated the mode of transmission. Previously, international health officials had noted one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission. But the Pan American Health Organization said more evidence was needed to confirm sexual contact as a means of Zika transmission. The WHO has said the virus, linked to severe birth defects in Brazil, has been spreading rapidly in the Americas and could infect 4 million people. It said it had launched a global response unit to fight the mosquito-borne virus, which is spreading rapidly in Latin America. Africa and Asia are also seen as being vulnerable. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains.   Reuters