The month of July is ending on a Zika-free note for the Coastal Bend with no new cases reported in the past month.
The only confirmed case in the Nueces County, happened in late June when a pregnant woman was diagnosed with Zika. It’s believed she contracted the virus during a trip to Mexico.
The lone star state’s first case of locally transmitted Zika for this year was confirmed just last Thursday in Hidalgo county. So far, no Zika-carrying mosquitoes have been found in the Coastal Bend.
But here’s our KRIS 6 News "fact check" question. Is the arrival of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in the Coastal Bend inevitable?
KRIS 6 News has determined the spread of infected mosquitoes into the Coastal Bend will eventually happen.
Do you have something you’d like the KRIS 6 News team to Fact Check? Email us!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, much of the country, including Texas, is within the range of mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean an increase of Zika cases.
Here in Texas, state health officials expect to see clusters of cases pop-up over the coming years, not widespread outbreaks. So, unfortunately, it appears it’s not a matter of if but when infected mosquitoes will be found here.
What about the rest of the country?
New York state has seen the highest number of Zika cases with 23 confirmed cases this year. Next in line are Texas, Florida, and California. Each has at least ten confirmed cases. Texas has 20 confirmed cases.
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