US records first case of Zika virus

The first case of Zika virus in the United States was confirmed in Dallas County on Tuesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the victim acquired it through sexual contact.

The patient was said to have returned from a country where the virus is known to be present.

Zika virus is transmitted to people by mosquitoes and through sexual activity. Dallas county health officials said they had no report of the virus being transmitted locally by mosquitoes.

With the first case, health officials laid emphasis on the need to increase awareness on the virus.

“Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others,” said Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director.

“Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections.”

There is no medication to treat Zika virus and there is no vaccine; the best prevention is to avoid mosquitoes and sexual contact with infected people.

The most common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, first identified in monkeys in Uganda in 1947, was largely confined to Africa and Asia before 2015, when it was first detected in Brazil.

Its spread in that country has coincided to a surge in a severe birth defect, microcephaly, in more than 3,800 babies, leading health officials to issue travel advisories for those countries for women who are pregnant or might become pregnant.

On Monday, the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency, estimating that more than 4 million people may be infected by the end of the year.