A baby has died from the virus Zika in Texas, according to a press release from the health authorities of this American state (http://www.dshs.texas.gov/news/releases/2016/20160809.aspx). This is the first case of death linked to the virus in Texas (United States) which has 97 cases of Zika, including two children with microcephaly, a malformation of the brain.
According to statements by health authorities, all cases are “linked to travel abroad to areas where transmission of the virus is active”.
The baby was born with a brain malformation and died shortly after birth. His mother had been infected during a trip to Latin America.
“Recent tests have confirmed the baby’s condition and the link to the Zika virus. The mother and child are classified as travel infected patients and there is no increased risk in Texas,” the statement said.
Zika virus infection in the United States
The Zika virus is an infectious disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, already responsible for Dengue fever, by the tiger mosquito (Aedes Albopictus) and by unprotected sexual relations. Pregnant women should avoid traveling to risk areas and should protect themselves during sexual intercourse for at least 6 months, if their partner returns from a country where the virus is rife. Indeed, this infection can generate cases of microcephaly (abnormally small cranial box) in the fetus.
The US Centers for Disease Research and Control (CDC) has recorded 15 US births of babies with Zika-related defects, and six miscarriages and 21 cases of autochthonous transmission of the virus, all in one Miami neighborhood , Florida (southeast).
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