US Advises Abstinence, Condom Use To Prevent Zika Spread

As for men and their nonpregnant sex partners, the CDC says they “might consider abstaining from sexual activity or using condoms consistently and correctly during sex”. In this case, a man returning from Venezuela infected his female partner with the virus through intercourse.

For women who aren’t pregnant and men with sex partners who are not pregnant but who live in or have traveled to regions with Zika transmission, the agency says precautions can also be taken.

This week the World Health Organization declared Zika a global public health emergency after it was linked to brain deformities in babies in South America.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness and the Centers for Disease Control is investigating a possible link between transmission of the virus to unborn babies exposed during pregnancy. The scientists also said that there could be certain enzymes present in the saliva that would make it impossible for the virus to spread.

The issue is that many people who contract Zika virus might not know they have it. Only 1 in 5 people who have Zika develop symptoms, and those symptoms are typically mild: fatigue, aches, pain, and a skin rash.

Gavel said more tests need to be carried out to definitively confirm the above-mentioned hypothesis.

Travis County health officials on Thursday confirmed the first case of the Zika virus in the county.

With the Zika virus having arrived in the United States, federal health officials on Friday outlined recommendations to prevent infected people from spreading the virus through sexual contact.

Brazil has more than 4,000 cases and the country is warning women to postpone pregnancy.

“Everything that we’ve seen with not just Zika but dengue and chikungunya – spread by the same mosquito – suggests that this is the overwhelming cause and route of transmission”, Frieden said Friday.

“We’re not aware of any mosquito disease associated with such a potential devastating birth outcome on a scale anything like what appears to be occurring with Zika in Brazil”, Frieden said.

The Zika virus is primarily spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.