WHO, PAHO chiefs meet in Brazil over Zika

Because these new reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of transmission for Zika virus than previously considered, CDC issued a Health Advisory Notice (HAN) today to underscore the importance of adhering to the interim guidance published on February 5.

USA has commenced an investigation into the possible sexual transmission of Zika virus, Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said.

Ms. Chan also struck some cautionary notes, as she pledged WHO’s continuing involvement in supporting Brazil, which also is battling surging cases of two other, similar mosquito-transmitted diseases, dengue and chikungunya.

In two of the suspected cases, the infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual contact with an ill male partner who had recently travelled to an area where the virus is present, the agency said. The CDC said several of the 14 women were pregnant, but refused to give further details.

For that reason, men with a pregnant partner who have traveled to a Zika area should be rigorous in their use of a condom during sex – or abstain from sex entirely, the CDC says.

Brazil’sHealth Ministry said that since October 22 there have been a total of 583 confirmed cases of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with undersized skulls and underdeveloped brains.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been reported in patients with probable Zika virus infection in French Polynesia and Brazil.

In addition, the agency announced it is adding Trinidad and Tobago and the Marshall Islands to its list of countries to which it recommends pregnant women not travel.

“We have been a little surprised by the number of suspected cases we’ve received”, said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy incident manager for Zika virus at the CDC, to CNN. Doctors do not know, for example, how many pregnant women with Zika will give birth to a child with congenital birth defects, or even how many people have been infected with Zika throughout the Americas.

And Brian Foy, a biologist at Colorado State University who studies vector-borne illnesses, suspects he transmitted the Zika virus to his wife via sex in 2008, when he returned from a trip to Senegal. Research efforts underway will also examine the link between Zika and GBS.

The primary method of infection of the virus remains mosquito bites.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan is in Brazil to assess the Zika virus situation and response, a United Nations spokesman said.