CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Health officials on Friday confirmed the first U.S. death of a patient infected with the Zika virus in Puerto Rico.
The man, who was in his 70s, died from severe thrombocytopenia, a bleeding disorder caused by abnormally low blood platelets, which are needed for blood clotting.
Dr. Tyler Sharp of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dengue Branch in San Juan told Reuters the patient had Zika virus disease, which included symptoms of fever, rash and body pain.
Shortly after those symptoms subsided, the man developed “bleeding manifestations” which sent him to the doctor for treatment.
Sharp said the man was diagnosed with a rare Zika complication known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks blood cells, called platelets.
