Texas reports first case of Zika likely from local mosquitoes

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen at the Laboratory of Entomology and Ecology of the Dengue Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 6, 2016. REUTERS/Alvin Baez/File Photo

(Reuters) – Texas officials on Monday reported the state’s first case of the Zika virus that was likely transmitted by a local mosquito, expanding the spread within the continental United States of a virus that has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect.

The case involved a woman living in Cameron County near the Mexico border, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. The state said it currently has no other suspected cases of local transmission.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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