Dallas (WBAP/KLIF News) – It’s a sobering first for the State of Texas. Carrie Williams with the Department of State Health Services says they got the news that the first baby with Microcephaly has been been born in Texas.
“This is a baby that was recently born in Harris County” explained Williams. “The mother had traveled to Latin America, where all of the evidence points to the fact that she was infected there.”
Microcephaly is a birth defect in which the baby’s brain doesn’t develop fully, and therefore the head is smaller than normal. It can have life-long repercussions, including developmental problems, balance, hearing and vision, and more. It’s probably the best-known consequence of women contracting Zika when pregnant.
While there have been no cases of locally-transmitted Zika yet, Williams says it’s only a matter of time. She says it’s vital for anyone traveling to Zika hot spots, like Brazil for the Olympics, to get into the habit of putting on bug repellant. She says the last thing they want to see is for people to bring Zika back and pass it along to local mosquitos.
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