Zika may have been sexually transmitted in 14 cases: CDC

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday it is investigating 14 new reports of the Zika virus in the United States, possibly transmitted through sexual contact.

While officials say mosquito bites are by far the most common means of transmitting Zika, the reports suggest sexual transmission is likely a more frequent occurrence than was believed.

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There’s still a whole lot of uncertainty over how sexual transmission would work, and the CDC is now researching important questions, such as how long Zika can stay present in semen, when men are the most infectious, and which sex acts can pass the virus on.

But on day one of the study’s data-collection phase, the same precarious conditions that contributed to the proliferation of the mosquito-borne virus throughout the region proved to be a stumbling block for researchers, even in Paraiba state’s more-developed capital, Joao Pessoa.

“We have learnt lessons from dengue and from chikungunya outbreaks in the past, so we should expect to see more cases, we should expect this is going to be a long journey”. Now there is no vaccine or cure.

In one case, the virus was spread a few days before symptoms developed.

How long will we have to deal with Zika before it’s extinguished?

The CDC said it had issued a health advisory notice as a “strong reminder” to doctors, the public and public-health departments to heed its recommendation that men who have traveled to areas where Zika is circulating abstain from sex or use condoms after their return, particularly with a pregnant partner.

Particles of Zika virus are colored red in this transmission electron micrograph. They also need participation as controls of two to three times as many mothers from the same areas who delivered babies without microcephaly at about the same time.

Zika infection generally causes mild symptoms, but it may be linked to thousands of cases of birth defects in Brazil known as microcephaly, which is marked by undersized heads and underdeveloped brains. While news of Zika virus cases are becoming more prominent, most students at Ohio State should not be alarmed but should take precautions when traveling overseas to infected areas. “Base don what I have seen here, I can tell you: the mosquito is hard, but it cannot beat Brazil”, Chan said. US and Brazilian health workers knocked on doors in the poorest neighborh…

Earlier this month, Dallas health officials reported the first known case of sexual transmission of Zika in the current outbreak.