Biosecurity

Zika virus: Texas reports first case from local mosquito

Health officials in the US state of Texas say they have recorded the first case of the Zika virus transmitted by a local mosquito.

Up until now, all Zika cases in Texas have been contracted while travelling.

The virus, which started spreading rapidly through the Americas last year, has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect.

Florida is the only other US state to have reported locally caught cases of Zika.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said the patient was a woman living in Cameron County, near the Mexican border. She is not pregnant, and has not recently travelled to Mexico or anywhere else with ongoing Zika virus transmission.