A pregnant Fort Bend County woman who traveled from El Salvador earlier this year has tested positive for the Zika virus, Legacy Community Health announced.

It is believed to be the first confirmed case of the virus in an expectant mother in the Houston area.

It's not clear whether she contracted the virus from a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual contact with a male partner, Legacy officials said Thursday. The woman's case came to light when she sought medical care at a Legacy health clinic in Fort Bend County.

"We are closely monitoring the patient through her pregnancy and hope for the best for mom and baby," Dr. Natalie Vanek, a Legacy infectious disease specialist, said in a statement.

The clinic is echoing messages from public health authorities urging pregnant women to avoid travel to Central or South American countries where the mosquito-borne virus is circulating. This pregnant patient is the third case of Zika in Fort Bend County. There have been 12 confirmed cases in Houston and Harris County and at least 31 statewide.

300x250.jpg

'Focused on prevention'

Public health officials stressed that the latest case changes nothing about the risk to Houston residents.

"We are focused on prevention, not panic," Vanek said.

Harris County public health officials are asking residents to get rid of standing water around their homes that can provide breeding sites for mosquitoes, particularly after the heavy rains and flooding this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last week a Zika infection can cause microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains and heads.

On Thursday, the agency released new data on the testing of people suspected of having a Zika infection.

From Jan. 3 to March  5, 4,534 people in the U.S. were tested, including 3,335 pregnant women. About a third of those tested reported at least one Zika symptom, and nearly 12 percent of individuals with symptoms tested positive. Of the 2,425 asymptomatic pregnant women, only seven tested positive.

Not 'if' but 'when'

So far, 358 individuals have been diagnosed with Zika in the United States, including 31 pregnant women. Seven of the cases were sexually transmitted, while the remainder were all infected outside the country.

Zika also can be passed on through sexual contact, and the CDC has recommended that men refrain from unprotected sex for at least eight weeks after traveling to an affected region or six months after developing symptoms. There is no evidence now that women can transmit the virus to their sexual partners.

Health officials are urging those infected with the virus to wear mosquito repellent and take other precautions to avoid being bitten to keep the virus from infecting the local mosquito population.

While experts expect some outbreaks of Zika in the U.S. in the coming months, so far, there have been no confirmed cases of someone infected with Zika through a mosquito bite within the country.

"Our planning isn't if, it's when," Dr. John Hellerstadt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said at a Zika Virus Summit in Dallas on Wednesday. "We know the devastating effect for women of childbearing age, and that risk will only increase."

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-area-woman-first-expectant-mother-here-7294840.php