A county in the southwestern state of Texas on Tuesday reported what appears to be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact.
Officials in Dallas County say the patient was infected with Zika after having sexual contact with a sick individual who returned from a country where the virus is present.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control - the top federal public health agency - has confirmed the Texas case, but says it has not yet investigated. In an email to VOA, the CDC said it "confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental United States."
Zika is of greatest concern in Brazil, where the virus was found last year. Brazil has reported nearly 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly since October, with only 150 cases in 2014.