Case of Sexually Transmitted Zika Confirmed in U.S.

 

AUSTIN, Texas – U.S. health authorities confirmed Tuesday the first case of Zika virus infection in this country, and also the first transmitted sexually, in a Dallas resident who had sex with an individual infected by the Aedes aegypti mosquito in another country.

Up to now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recorded 31 cases of people, including six Texans, infected by mosquitoes outside the country, but none of them had been infected inside the United States.

According to the latest CDC records, published on Jan. 28, 19 cases of the virus were confirmed to have been transmitted locally by mosquitoes in Puerto Rico and another in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After receiving confirmation of the infection from the CDC laboratories, the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department reported the news, though without providing further details.

“This increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others,” Health Department Director Zachary Thompson said, adding that “next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against sexually transmitted infections.”

The World Health Organization declared Monday a “public health emergency of international concern,” since the infection transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito could be related to birth defects.