First Zika-related infant death in US reported in Texas

New York, Aug 10: Health authorities in the US State of Texas on Tuesday confirmed a Zika-related death of a newborn girl, the first of its kind in the country.

Texas Department of State Health Services said that an infant in Harris County who died shortly after birth had microcephaly, linked to the Zika virus, Xinhua quoted local TV station ABC13 as saying.

The mother of the victim had traveled to El Salvador during her pregnancy where she was infected. The test results recently confirmed the baby's condition and link to Zika. The mother and baby are classified as travel-related cases and there is no additional associated risk in Texas.

John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said that Zika's impact on unborn babies can be tragic, their central mission from the beginning has been to do everything they can to protect unborn babies from the devastating effects of Zika.

Last month, the Lone Star state reported its first case of microcephaly linked to Zika, also an infant in the Harris County.

Currently, the DSHS is coordinating with the Harris County Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to follow the cases.

IANS