US health officials urge condoms against Zika

Reports say that Brazil has over 4000 suspected and 400 established cases of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus among new born babies.

The CDC advises men with a pregnant partner to use condoms if they have traveled to an area with “active Zika virus transmission”.

The U.N. human rights agency called for some nations to loosen strict laws against abortion and US health authorities recommended men who have visited areas with the Zika virus use condoms if they have sex with pregnant women.

The CDC said the link between Zika virus and severe birth defects is growing stronger by the day. The first case of Zika virus in South America was confirmed in Brazil in May 2015 and the virus has since spread to other South American countries, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

No mosquitoes have been found to be carrying Zika in Queensland and although 10 cases have been reported in the state since 2014, none were on the Sunshine Coast and each was found to have been brought in by someone returning from overseas.

Concern about the virus was elevated following reports of increased cases of a serious birth defect known as microcephaly that may be associated with Zika virus infection among pregnant women. One person traveled to Venezuela, where Zika is spreading, and had sex with their partner.

Health officials have warned against traveling to the two dozen or so countries affected by the virus.

The CDC says couples who are considering using condoms or abstaining from sex out of precaution should consider a few factors, including the fact that the virus is usually mild and when symptoms occur they can last several days to about a week. It also may be possible to spread the virus from a mother to her baby during pregnancy.

“We are quite literally discovering more about Zika each and every day”, Frieden said.

Zika virus disease is mainly spread by mosquitoes.

“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. The CDC still is reviewing data on whether the virus can be transmitted through saliva and urine and is not making a recommendation related to those fluids at this time, according to Dr. Frieden.