Just a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency, the first case of Zika virus transmission locally acquired in the continental United States was reported by the Centers for Disease Control in Texas. According to the health officials, the infection has occurred through sexual transmission.
The Zika virus infection case in Texas has been announced by Dallas County health officials. According to the report, the patient had sex with a person recently returned from Venezuela and who has been already infected with Zika virus.
The CDC declared in a statement to CNN that the test results are already confirmed and they are showing that Zika virus is present in the blood of a "nontraveler in the continental United States." They added that no risk to a developing fetus is present in this case.
Zika virus is already linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil. The WHO officials expressed their concern on Tuesday regarding the rapid spreading of the virus in Americas. They are worried that the virus could also hit Asia and Africa.
Up to date scientists had thought that the Zika virus is spread by the bite of Aedes genus mosquitoes. The news that the virus might spread through sexual contact as well is very alarming. This can lead to even a more dangerous development and faster widespread of the virus throughout the entire world.
Dallas County Health and Human Services declared on Twitter that the patient infected with Zika virus did not travel but was rather infected through sexual contact with a person who had traveled to Venezuela.
Currently, in the Texas county there are no reports of the virus transmitted locally by mosquitoes, according to Reuters. The possibility of sexual transmission of Zika virus was also pointed out by the statement of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
