The Zika virus is now spreading in a state besides Florida, with a Texas resident likely getting the virus from a mosquito bite.
Texas’ Department of State Health Services reported that a resident in Cameron County, near the border with Mexico, contracted the virus that is linked to birth defects. If the case of local transmission is confirmed, Texas would join Florida as the only U.S. states where the virus is spreading locally.
Florida has more than 200 cases of local transmission, almost all centering in Miami-Dade County.
The resident who contracted the virus did not recently travel to Mexico, where the virus is also spreading locally, or any other country where the virus is spreading.
“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,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Officials are trapping and testing mosquitoes in or near the resident’s home to try to contain the virus.
Zika normally causes a mild illness and only one in five people with the virus show symptoms. However, it is linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, and other birth abnormalities.
As of last week, Texas had 257 confirmed cases of Zika. However, all of them were people who got the virus in another country or territory.
The Wynwood neighborhood in Miami was the first site of a Zika outbreak in the U.S. The virus has since spread to parts of Miami Beach and other parts of Miami-Dade County. A few isolated cases also have been found in other parts of the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently declared that the northern part of Miami Beach no longer had active Zika transmission. However, a Zika outbreak is continuing in the southern part of the tourist destination.
