Congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee, a Senior Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the following statement today in response to news that it has been confirmed that an infant who recently died in Harris County had microcephaly linked to the Zika virus.
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The first known case of a pregnant woman infected with Zika in the United States is setting off alarm bells among health officials and regulators.
Houston TV station KHOU reported that the mother had traveled to El Salvador and didn’t know she had the virus.
The baby’s condition was confirmed by recent test results, revealing link to Zika.
DHS officials said in a statement Wednesday there are fewer than 20 people in Wisconsin who have confirmed cases of Zika virus.
“They stay low to the ground, often times bites you in your feet, your legs”, said Dr Umair Shah, the executive director of Harris County Public Health.
Texas has reported 97 cases of Zika virus disease, including the two infants with microcephaly from Harris County.
There’s no evidence that mosquitoes are transmitting Zika in any other areas of Miami, the Florida Department of Health said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Zika virus is mostly spread to people through the bite of an infected mosquito, however, a more insidious aspect of the disease is that it can be passed through sex from a person who has Zika.
MIAMI-U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged federal lawmakers now on summer recess back into session to pass a crucial funding bill to combat the Zika virus as she visited a health clinic at the heart of a local outbreak in Miami on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Aedes aegypti mosquito, which may carry the Zika virus or dengue fever. “We are devastated to report our first case of Zika-associated death and our hearts go out to the family”.
She visited a private medical office on 12 July, 2016, and was referred to Cayman Islands Hospital where a sample was taken and sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing. But officials are on the alert for possible local transmission.
Erica Musser, 35, and her husband Daryl, are rethinking pregnancy because of the Zika threat.
The mosquitoes have a short travel range, and Florida officials are describing the infections as a “small case cluster” that do not indicate widespread transmission. So it’s no surprise that South Florida is where a US outbreak occurred.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on mosquito-borne diseases.
When Zika came to the USA earlier this year, we noted the risks and prevention tips worth considering-and today’s news, while tragic, doesn’t change them much.
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Since January, more than 60 countries or territories have reported Zika virus spreading within their borders.
