New Zika Cases Linked To Sexual Transmission, CDC Says

Several of the cases involved pregnant women, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned on Tuesday.

“In two of the new suspected sexual transmission events, Zika virus infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual contact with an ill male partner who had recently traveled to an area with local Zika virus transmission, “the CDC explained”.

The CDC, which previously advised a one month delay of pregnancy, said it is extending the time by another month after referring to the updated guidelines by the World Health Organization(WHO) and various reported Zika cases overseas.

For non-pregnant women, the CDC recommended couples concerned about sexual transmission of the Zika virus should always wear a condom during sex or abstain from having sex. The women quickly began to show symptoms consistent with the virus.

Dr. Peter Hotez, endowed chairman of Tropical Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital, told Al Jazeera that it was a significant development for a virus mostly transmitted by mosquitos. The normally mild virus has been linked with a serious birth defect called microcephaly and a neurological condition, Guillain-Barre syndrome. ODH’s Zika page suggests covering up with long-sleeved shirts and trousers, staying in places with window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside, using a mosquito bed net and wearing Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents. However, the CDC said more research needs to be completed to understand the issue.

In known cases of likely sexual transmission, the men had Zika symptoms. There have been no reports of women transmitting Zika to male sex partners. His lab has since partnered with researchers in Brazil to study sexual transmission of Zika virus.

“There are mosquitoes biting people, and maybe there’s sexual transmission”, Foy says. The U.S. cases may help scientists figure out more about how the virus tends to move.

Still, from the virus’ perspective, it would take a lot of fortuitous occurrences for a man to pass it to a sexual partner: He would have to get infected with the virus first; he’d have to be sexually active; and he’d have to have sex with someone before his body cleared the virus.

Don’t just blame Zika on the bugs, blame Zika on climate change.