Locally transmitted ZIKA case in Texas! Are we ready?

“Officials in Texas reported what they believe is a case of mosquito transmission of the virus within the state’s border, the first within the continental United States this year.
If correct, it would be the first known instance of local mosquito transmission within the continental United States this year.” (A)

This past April –
“The state now recommends that all pregnant women in six South Texas counties — currently in their first and second trimester — should be tested for the Zika virus.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is expanding their guidance for Zika prevention for the 2017 mosquito season, as they prepare for additional local transmission of the virus, meaning people who have not recently traveled getting bitten by a mosquito and then infected. Most Texas cases, however, are travel-related.
Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Webb, Willacy and Zapata counties are included in the new guidance. In addition to women in their first or second trimester, any pregnant woman who has a rash and at least one other Zika symptom — fever, joint pain, or eye redness — should be tested as well.
For pregnant women in Texas not in the six listed counties, they should be tested if they have traveled to areas with ongoing Zika transmission, including any part of Mexico.” (B)

….. organizing principles are urgently need to be established for tiered Zika hospital preparedness. Here are some thoughts. (C)
1. There should not be an automatic default to just designating Ebola Centers as ZRRCs, although there is likely to be significant overlap. There should not be an automatic default to just designating Ebola Centers as ZRRCs, although there is likely to be significant overlap.
2. Zika Centers should be academic medical centers with respected, comprehensive infectious disease diagnostic/ treatment and research capabilities, and rigorous infection control programs. They should also offer robust, comprehensive perinatology, neonatology, and pediatric neurology services, with the most sophisticated imaging capabilities (and Zika-related “reading” expertise).
3. National leadership in clinical trials.
4. A track record of successful, large scale clinical Rapid Response.
5. Organizational wherewithal to address intensive resource absorption.
6. Start preliminary planning for Zika care out of the initial designated ZRRCs.
Zika protocols will be templates for are other mosquito borne diseases lurking on the horizon, such as Chikungunya, MERS, and Dengue.

(A) Case of Zika Virus, Likely Spread by Mosquito, Is Reported in Texas, by Donald McNeil Jr, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/health/zika-virus-mosquito-texas.html
(B) Texas prepares for more local transmission of the Zika virus, by Andy Jechow,http://kxan.com/2017/04/07/texas-prepares-for-more-local-transmission-of-the-zika-virus/
(C) Former hospital prez says: Designate local Zika centers now, https://doctordidyouwashyourhands.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=6528&action=edit