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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.

Beltran Leyva Cartel’s Leader Arrested in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – The leader of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel was captured in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, National Security Commissioner Renato Sales said.

Francisco Javier Hernandez Garcia, who was on the government’s list of the 122 most-wanted criminals in Mexico, was arrested last Saturday, Sales said in a statement.

“The lines of investigation indicate that after the arrest of Hector Beltran Leyva on Oct. 1, 2014, Hernandez Garcia took command of the criminal organization,” Sales said.

Hernandez Garcia was arrested in the city of Guasave during an operation staged by the army and the Federal Police.

Francisco Javier Martinez Coronado, suspected of being an associate of the cartel leader, was also arrested.

The arrest of the 47-year-old Hernandez Garcia raises to 99 the number of most-wanted criminals captured by the government, Sales said.

The Beltran Leyva cartel arose as a splinter group of the Sinaloa drug cartel, Mexico’s oldest and most powerful drug trafficking organization, in 2008.

The criminal organization was led by Arturo Beltran Leyva, who died in a shootout with marines at a luxury condo in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos state, on Dec. 16, 2009.

Two weeks after Arturo was killed, Carlos Beltran Leyva was arrested in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, where he was going by the alias of Carlos Gamez.

Hector Beltran Leyva took over control of the cartel after Arturo’s death, but he had to battle a rival faction led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal for control of the organization.

Valdez Villarreal, known as “La Barbie,” was arrested by the Federal Police on Aug. 30, 2010, and Hector Beltran Leyva was arrested just over four years later.

The Beltran Leyva organization formed alliances with other cartels, including the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas, that were battling the Sinaloa cartel.

Since 2010, the Beltran Leyva organization has been weakened by the arrests and killings of many prominent members.