Health officials in Bexar County (San Antonio, Texas) have confirmed they are investigating six cases for the Zika virus in this single Texas county.
The six individuals who are being tested for the virus all occurred last week, as reported by NEWS4SA.
The test results from the Center for Disease Control are reported to be expected back next week.
All of the people being tested for the virus came from South American countries, reports the local media outlet. None of the women involved are pregnant.
Health officials say that the danger for contacting the virus is for those who travel to, or are from, Central American and Latin American countries. The virus is extremely dangerous for the unborn babies of pregnant women.
Breitbart Texas’ Merrill Hope reported on Saturday that Texas health officials are becoming concerned after six cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed statewide. “We need to find a way to control the spread,” Dr. Nikos Vasilakis from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston told KHOU CBS11 in Houston.
As reported by Breitbart Texas earlier this week, a Brazilian judge has approved abortions for women who have contacted Zika and can prove their unborn has microcephaly or ancenephaly. In Brazil, abortions are only legal with judicial approval.
Brazil has launched a door-to-door campaign and is using 220,000 soldiers to combat the spread of the virus, as reported by Breitbart News’ Frances Martel. The medical field has recorded more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly in the nation.
The Zika virus spreads through mosquito bites, in particular from the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The insect also carries diseases such as yellow fever, Chikungunya, and dengue fever.
Breitbart News reported that Brazilian authorities have documented thousands of cases of pregnant women diagnosed with Zika giving birth to babies with microcephaly. Children with microcephaly typically suffer severe mental damage.
The “microcephaly epidemic,” as it is referred to in an BBC Brasil article, is reported to affect at 20 Brazilian states or more and the federal district. Ancenephaly is a condition in which a fetus is missing a portion of the brain, skull, or scalp. Microcephaly is defined as an abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.
As reported by Breitbart News’ Mary Chastain, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that the Zika virus in Latin America has “explosive pandemic potential.” Her article also discusses how the virus targets the unborn.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
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