Texas state health officials have announced the first case of Zika likely spread by local mosquitoes in the state.
The patient is a woman in Brownsville, a town near the Mexican boarder on the Gulf Coast, who is not pregnant. She had not recently travelled to anywhere with ongoing Zika transmission. Her infection was confirmed by lab test last week.
"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 John Hellerstedt, MD, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
County and city officials are working to educate the public about the threat and help people reduce potential mosquito breeding spots on their property. They will also go door to door to collect voluntary urine samples to test for other Zika infections. Right now, there are no other cases of suspected local transmission, according to the DSHS.
"Even though it is late in the mosquito season, mosquitoes can spread Zika in some areas of the country," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD. "Texas is doing the right thing by increasing local surveillance and trapping and testing mosquitoes in the Brownsville area." The CDC is working with state and local officals.
Florida is the only other state in the U.S. where mosquitoes are transmitting the virus. As of Nov. 23, Florida reported 182 locally acquired Zika cases, according to the CDC.