Health authorities in Dallas, Texas, said on Tuesday they had received confirmation of the first transmission of the Zika virus through sexual contact.
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Health officials in Dallas have confirmed a first case contracted in the United States, the illness transmitted through sex.
Dallas officials have confirmed the first case of Zika virus in the USA being transmitted locally via sexual intercourse.
Mosquito monitoring in Coconino County show the virus is now not present in the area. In addition, US travelers returning from affected tropical regions in Latin America have been diagnosed with Zika virus linked to their travel.
Zachary Thompson, the health department’s director, said the case proved that Zika could be transmitted sexually.
The news comes as two adults have been confirmed to have the Zika virus in Ireland.
About one in five people infected with Zika virus will develop symptoms, which include fever, rash, joint pain, and pink eye. Health officials noted that sexual partners can protect themselves by using condoms to prevent spreading sexually transmitted infections.
On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak a global health emergency; a label only used a handful of times in the past.
Zika virus can be transmitted from the mother to the baby during pregnancy. Cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare paralysis disease, also increased during the 2014 French Polynesia Zika virus outbreak.
Chile’s Easter Island, some 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from the mainland, does have the mosquito that carries the disease and had 173 Zika cases in 2014.
The virus is usually spread by mosquito bites, health experts say. Infants born with microcephaly have smaller-than-normal head size, which can result in severe cognitive, neurological, and motor disabilities.
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See the latest information about the Zika virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
