Dive Brief:
- While the possibility of sexual transmission of the Zika virus has been suspected for several years, the CDC said this week it has confirmed such a case in Texas after a non-traveling patient was infected after sex with a partner recently returned from Venezuela.
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As a result, the CDC is updating its recommendations to state men should wear condoms after traveling to affected areas, though it didn't say for how long, and pregnant women should avoid contact with semen from recently exposed men.
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Further guidelines are expected to follow, but at this time many questions remain, experts say, such as whether Zika can be transmitted by men who never had symptoms, how long it remains in semen, and whether other bodily fluids might also transmit the disease.
Dive Insight:
The development indicates Zika is not limited by the geographic range and seasonality of the Aedis aegypti mosquito, which is still considered to be the main mode of disease transmission. The human-to-human component now complicates efforts to contain the disease and raises the possibility it could become a truly global issue.
The World Health Organization called for further investigation Wednesday, after declaring Zika an international public health emergency on Monday due to the link between the disease and the prevalence of microcephaly among babies born to infected mothers.
U.S. health officials are behind British health officials, observes The New York Times, who recommended precautions against possible sexual transmission last week, including that all men returning from affected areas use condoms for at least 28 days and that men with Zika symptoms avoid unprotected sex for six months.