CAMERON COUNTY, Texas – The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Cameron County Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that four additional cases of locally transmitted Zika virus have been found in Cameron County.
The four cases were discovered when public health workers went door to door, testing those in an eight-block radius where a previous locally transmitted Zika virus case had been discovered in November. Those affected reported getting Zika-like symptoms between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1. None of the people affected are pregnant women.
While San Antonio has seen several cases of the Zika virus, none were discovered to have been transmitted by a local mosquito. Instead, they were likely the result of travel to Zika-infested areas.
"We had kind of always predicted that if we got Zika in Texas, it will mostly likely start down south and move up,” explained Molly Keck, pest management specialist for Texas A&M Agrilife. “That's because it’s closer to Mexico down south. obviously, where it’s locally transmitted."
What was a surprise to Keck was the timing of an additional case.
"That just goes to show you that it can happen anytime, so just because it’s colder, we shouldn't let our guard down,” Keck said.
The mosquito species responsible for Zika transmission does decrease in population during the winter, which means the issue could ramp up for the San Antonio area once spring arrives.
"Come March, April, May, when we see a peak again and people are still traveling to and from where there's high levels of Zika, our chances will increase,” said Dr. Megan Wise Valdez, associate professor of biology at Texas A&M San Antonio.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District has reported 19 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in San Antonio.