The health authorities in the U.S. State of Texas on Tuesday confirmed a Zika-related death of a newborn girl, the first of its kind in the country.
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The baby was reportedly pronounced dead shortly after it was born becoming the first death relating to Zika in Texas. Travel-related cases are monitored because of the possibility a mosquito could bite a person with an active infection, then bite non-infected people and start a chain of local transmission.
Mohave County officials are now spraying for all mosquitoes and handing out mosquito prevention kits to the public.
“Zika’s impact on unborn babies can be tragic, and our hearts are with this family”, said Dr. John Hellerstedt, Texas Department of State Health Services commissioner.
Dom Smith/STAT Officials in Harris Couty, Texas, knew Zika virus would arrive.
In Puerto Rico, 901 pregnant women have been diagnosed with Zika.
Like the other eight cases, this one is also travel related.
While this is a travel-associated case, Shah said, prevention is key to reducing the risk of the virus. It was the first Zika-related death in Texas. Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding should choose an EPA-registered insect repellent and use it according to the product label.
Marisha DiCarlo, director of health communications, said the resident, whose identity has not been released, recently traveled to the Caribbean. One of the cases was sexually transmitted. “We want to protect pregnant women above all else”, state epidemiologist Cheri Drenzek said.
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U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to allocate 1.9 billion U.S. dollars in emergency funding to combat the spread of the virus.
