by Rachael Rettner
After a person in Dallas was confirmed to have contracted the Zika
virus through sex, U.S. health officials are warning men who travel to
countries where Zika is spreading to take steps to prevent spreading the
virus through sex.
If a man has a pregnant partner, and has traveled to any of the more than 20 countries where Zika virus
is spreading, he should either abstain from sex, or use condoms, until
the end of his partner's pregnancy, officials at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) said today (Feb. 5).
The warning comes because health officials are concerned about a strong link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy
and a birth defect called microcephaly, in which babies are born with
abnormally small heads and face lifelong cognitive impairments.
"We know that this is anxiety-provoking for women who are pregnant and
[for] their families," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a
news conference today (Feb. 5). But there are things that people can do
to lower their risk of contracting the virus, including rigorously
protecting against mosquito bites, which are the usual mode of Zika
transmission, and following the new guidelines to prevent sexual
transmission, Frieden said.
Although the Zika virus stays in a person's blood for only up to a week
after the individual is infected, it's unknown how long the virus could
stay in a man's semen. That's why the new recommendation for
precautions during sex is for a woman's entire pregnancy. In one study,
researchers found that the virus may have been present in a man's semen
for up to 10 weeks after he got sick.
"We are quite literally discovering more about Zika each and every day," Frieden said.
The CDC also said that women who aren't pregnant, but who are concerned
about contracting the virus through sex could consider using condoms
during sex or abstaining if their partner has traveled to an area with
Zika cases. The agency noted that Zika infection is usually mild, and
about 80 percent of people who are infected with the virus have no
symptoms at all.
In the Dallas case, a person contracted Zika virus after having sex
with a man who had recently returned from Venezuela, and had symptoms of
the infection. Still, sexual transmission of Zika virus is thought to be rare; there are just three known reported cases of the virus spreading through sex.
Frieden emphasized that the primary way Zika spreads is by mosquito bites.
It's not known whether Zika virus is also present in a person's saliva
when the individual is infected, but the CDC is not currently issuing
any recommendations about avoiding kissing, Frieden said. It's also not
known if a woman who is infected with Zika can spread the disease to a
man through sex, the agency said.
The CDC recommended that all pregnant U.S. women consider postponing
travel to the areas where the Zika virus is spreading, including 24
countries in Central and South America.
So far, there have been 51 cases of Zika virus in the United States
(not including cases in the territories such as Puerto Rico or American
Samoa), and of these, 50 concerned people who caught the disease while
traveling.
Pregnant women who travel to areas where Zika is spreading should be
tested for the virus within two to 12 weeks after they return, even if
they don't have symptoms, the CDC said.
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