Texas health officials today reported a baby born with microcephaly to a mother who traveled from Latin America where she was likely infected with Zika virus, the fourth such case to be announced in a US state.
Also today, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) risk analysis for the Olympic Games in Brazil noted that four countries have a unique risk for exported virus: Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Yemen.
Texas's first Zika-linked microcephaly case
The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) said in a news release that it received lab confirmation of a past Zika infection in a baby who was recently born with microcephaly in Harris County. Neither the mother nor baby is infectious, and the cases poses no risk to Texas residents, the agency said.
In a separate statement from Harris County Public Health (HCPH), officials said Zika test results for the mother were inconclusive, but the infant's results were definitive, suggesting that the mother was probably infected while she was pregnant, presumably in Latin America.
Umair Shah, MD, MPH, HCPH's executive director, said in the statement, "Microcephaly is one of the worst tragedies related to Zika virus infection. We are sad to report that we now have our first case of Zika-associated microcephaly and our hearts go out to the family."
The case is the first for Texas and the fourth microcephaly case to be announced in US states, all of which have been linked to travel to areas where the disease is spreading locally. In early June, New Jersey reported a baby girl born with microcephaly to a mother infected in Honduras, while in late June a baby born in Florida to a woman from Haiti was confirmed to have Zika-linked microcephaly. In January, Hawaii reported the states' first Zika-linked microcephaly case, in an infant born to a mother who had lived in Brazil early in her pregnancy.
Texas is among the states with the largest number of travel-linked Zika cases. In an update today, the TDSHS reported 59 Zika cases, one of which is a previously announced sexually transmitted infection. Two of the illnesses detected in Texas are in pregnant women.
In its most recent update on Zika-related pregnancy outcomes in the United States and its territories, the CDC said there were 13 cases, 12 in the states and 1 in Puerto Rico. Seven were born live and six involved pregnancy losses. So far the CDC has received reports of 599 pregnant women infected with Zika virus, 279 of them from Puerto Rico.
Olympic travel only fraction of global volume
In its assessment of the threat of exported Zika infections related to travel to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the CDC said the travel volume expected for the events represents a very small fraction, less than 0.25%, of 2015 global travel volume to Zika-affected countries.
The agency said Brazil's Tourism Board projects that about 350,000 to 500,000 international visitors from 207 countries are expected to travel to the games.
The CDC also noted that games visitors will have a low risk of infection, because the events will take place during Rio de Janeiro's winter season, when cooler and drier weather is known to reduce mosquito populations.
When experts looked at countries at risk for imported Zika infection exclusively linked to the upcoming games, they found that although all have some risk for travel-linked cases, a small number have a unique risk, because they don't now have substantial travel to countries with ongoing Zika transmission. They are Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Yemen.
The CDC added that the countries also have environmental conditions and population susceptibility that would sustain mosquito-borne Zika transmission.
Reiterating its travel advice for the games, the CDC said pregnant women should not attend them, that all visitors should take steps to avoid mosquito bites while in Brazil and for 3 weeks after returning home, and that all attendees should take steps to avoid sexual transmission.
See also:
Jul 13 TDSHS news release
Jul 13 HCPH statement
TDSHS Zika page
Jul 7 CDC update on Zika-related pregnancy outcomes
Jul 13 CDC risk assessment in MMWR
Related Jul 13 CDC media statement
