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Texas woman likely acquired Zika from mosquito
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Local health officials say a woman in Cameron County, Texas, likely contracted Zika virus from a mosquito bite.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced today that the woman’s urine tested positive for Zika last week, but her blood was negative, indicating that she cannot spread the virus further to other mosquitoes.
Aedes aegpyti — the primary vector of Zika virus.
Source: James Gathany/CDC
Texas is only the second U.S. state to report a case of locally transmitted Zika.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before we saw a Zika case spread by a mosquito in Texas,” DSHS commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD, said in a news release. “We still don’t believe the virus will become widespread in Texas, but there could be more cases, so people need to protect themselves from mosquito bites, especially in parts of the state that stay relatively warm in the fall and winter.”
The woman, who is not pregnant, reported no recent travel to Mexico or any area with ongoing Zika transmission and no other risk factors, according to the DSHS.
In response to the case, Cameron County and the City of Brownsville have been trapping and testing mosquitoes near the women’s home, and the city has recently sprayed for mosquitoes, the DSHS said.
As of Nov. 23, Texas had reported 253 cases of Zika, including at least one patient who is believed to have been infected in Florida. But this was the first Texas cases involving local transmission, the DSHS said.
Florida is the only other U.S. state to see mosquito-born Zika, with transmission occurring in several locations in the Miami area. – by Gerard Gallagher
Disclosures: Hellerstedt is the commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.