Zika found in saliva, urine

Men who have traveled to areas where Zika virus is spreading should use protection during sex with a pregnant partner or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy, federal health officials said Friday.

The new CDC guidelines expand the testing recommendations for pregnant women.

There is no vaccine to prevent the virus, so avoiding mosquito bites is key, said Harry Savage, chief of ecology for the CDC.

Obstetricians have said that since 80 percent of those infected by the virus show no symptoms, it leaves many pregnant women no way of knowing early enough to make an informed choice about their unborn child.

The CDC recommended that all pregnant USA women consider postponing travel to the areas where the Zika virus is spreading, including 24 countries in Central and South America. One of the problems with Zika is that symptoms only appear in about 20 per cent of people who have it. Consequently, the CDC is advising that people take special precautions after visiting an area where Zika is now making the rounds.

Gadelha also stressed that the Aedes aegpyti mosquito, which also spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, remains the virus’ main vector and said the fight against the mosquito should be a top priority.

“I think it’s important to step back and emphasize that Zika is a mosquito-borne virus and the overwhelming majority of cases are spread by mosquitoes”, Frieden told reporters during a briefing Friday morning.

The Zika virus has gone from an obscure disease to an worldwide public health emergency.

The condition of the infected pregnant woman’s unborn baby is not presently known, reports Fox 5. However, global health officials suspect a Zika virus outbreak in Brazil may be linked to that country’s reported increase in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by babies with unusually small heads and, often, brains that have not developed properly.

Meanwhile, officials in Panama say they are focusing their fight against Zika on the mosquito that carries the virus.

“It may be that it’s present in saliva”.

It cites three cases of infected males showing symptoms who transmitted the virus.