First Case Of Sexually-Transmitted Zika Virus Confirmed In US

“People who have Zika virus infection can protect others by preventing additional mosquito bites”.

Health officials in Dallas said that the person infected during sex had not left the United States and that there was no documented transmission of the virus by mosquitoes within the city.

President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday that Brazil would devote all necessary resources to battling the virus. All previous cases in the US were travelers returning to the USA from countries where the virus was acquired from mosquito bites.

United States company RoamRight, part of insurer Arch Capital Group, said income jumped 81 per cent in January from a year ago for its “cancel for any reason” policy covering trips to Zika-impacted areas in South America.

Earlier Tuesday, CDC Director Tom Frieden told CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta: “There have been isolated cases of spread through blood transfusion or sexual contact and that’s not very surprising”.

“The patient was infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from a country where Zika virus is present” this year, a Dallas county statement read.

But he said the risk of a widespread outbreak of the Zika virus in China now appears to be low. There have been isolated reports of transmission through sexual activity.

“We don’t believe this was spread through mosquito bites, but we do believe it was spread through a sexual contact”.

Arizona public-health officials said one sample has been sent to the CDC for testing, and results showed the person did not have Zika.

The WHO on Monday declared an global public health emergency due to Zika’s link to thousands of recent birth defects in Brazil. Women trying to become pregnant should consult with their health-care professional if their partner has had exposure to Zika virus. “As the site of the nation’s first reported case of West Nile Virus, we know all too well the need for vigilance in the face of risks to public health”. Depending on how severe the microcephaly is, they may also have other problems including developmental delay, intellectual disabilities, and hearing and vision loss, according to the US Centre for Disease Control.

“Obviously, this adds a new dimension that needs to be addressed”, he said, noting CDC’s plans to update its guidance on the subject.

The development comes as two cases were reported in Ireland.

The areas most likely to see cases would be in South Florida, the Gulf Coast, Texas and maybe California because these regions have been invaded by the two primary Zika vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The health ministry confirmed 404 infant microcephaly cases during the week ending January 30, up from 270 the previous week, and is investigating 3,670 more possible cases.

Symptoms of the disease are fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), muscle pain and headache. And in December 2013 Zika virus was isolated from a man sickened in French Polynesia’s outbreak during a medical workup for hematospermia.

This time of year, when mosquitoes are dormant, the disease can’t spread. They did note that the illness did not develop in the couple’s four children, however.

Georgetown University infectious disease specialist Dr. Jesse Goodman agreed.