DALLAS COUNTY — Dallas County Health and Human Services in Texas said it has received confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus was transmitted through sexual contact in Dallas County this year.
The patient, the county says, “was infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from a country where Zika virus is present.”
The news comes just a day after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the virus.
WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year, but no recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade.
Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control advised pregnant women to postpone visits to Brazil and other countries in the region with Zika outbreaks.
But officials said it was unlikely the virus could cause widespread problems in the U.S.
Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda but until last year, it wasn’t believed to cause any serious effects; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.
The virus has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and nerve problems.