Zika Virus Has Been Sexually Transmitted In Texas

It’s the first case of the virus being transmitted in the USA during the current outbreak of Zika, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas. If confirmed, this will be the first evidence of the virus being spread through sexual contact in the USA, and only the second such case worldwide.

The virus, which one World Health Organization official said was spreading at an “explosive” rate, has been confirmed in several states since the outbreak of the illness.

An analysis made by James Gallagher, health editor at BBC, points out that if Zika can readily spread through sex, then it poses a risk to every country not just those with the Aedes mosquito.

All nine cases have been contracted by people who’ve traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Also on Tuesday, Chile’s Health Minister, Carmen Castillo, was travelling to Uruguay for an emergency Mercosur meeting to analyze the possible responses to the Zika virus. Common symptoms of Zika virus infection include fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), photophobia (sensitivity to light), muscle pain or headache. No mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States so far.

In 2008, a Colorado researcher reportedly caught the virus overseas and may have spread it to his wife when he returned to the U.S. These symptoms could last for a few days or up to week and will usually occur within a few days of becoming infected. There are also cases of the virus being passed on during labor and blood transfusion, which suggest the virus can be transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids and not just by mosquitoes. Until now, the 36 US residents with confirmed cases of the virus had become infected while traveling overseas. Pregnant women should avoid contact with semen from men exposed to the virus.

The CDC, as well as the Alabama Department of Public Health, has issued a travel advisory for people going to affected areas.

None of the cases involves pregnant women, who have been deemed particularly vulnerable to Zika because the virus has been linked to a condition called microcephaly, a rare birth condition that may cause babies to be born with smaller brains.