WIKIMEDIA, US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURENearly 2,000 Americans traveling abroad have contracted Zika to date, and now, an American traveler has caught the virus within the continental U.S. An El Paso County, Texas resident contracted the virus during a visit to Miami, where 30 people so far have been infected through local spread.
“This is the first Texas case to be linked to travel within the continental United States,” according to a statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services (via USA Today). “The case will be classified as ‘travel-associated’ and is being investigated for more details.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has tallied 1,962 people infected with Zika in the United States, including 510 pregnant women. According to the CDC’s Pregnancy Registry, as of August 4, 16 babies were born with birth defects and five fetuses with birth defects died. Earlier this month, a newborn with Zika-related microcephaly died in Texas—this was the first fatality in the state related to the viral outbreak and the second in the U.S., the Texas Tribune ...
