The Zika virus isn’t scaring away Brazil’s Carnival revelers and the country’s hotels are reporting higher bookings than past year. “Because how can they ask those women not to become pregnant, but also not offer them first information that is available, but the possibility to stop their pregnancies if they wish?”
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How long people are at risk is unclear, the CDC said, and researchers are trying to determine that now.
“This is not a generalised public health measure, for the love of God”, he said.
According to the state Department of Health, there are 11 cases of Zika in NY: three in Suffolk County; one in Nassau County; one in Rockland County; one in Westchester County; one in Monroe County; and one in Orange County. The CDC had suggested testing only for those woman who were experiencing symptoms of infection. 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.
“Sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible, and is of particular concern during pregnancy”, the CDC said in a Friday press release.
Brazil’s top research institute meanwhile said Zika, which is typically transmitted by mosquitoes, had been detected in urine and saliva, and warned that even kissing could pose a risk.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez has allocated an initial tranche of $10 million in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.
Zika is primarily contracted through mosquito bites – pregnant women can pass the virus on to their fetus; it also can be transmitted from blood transfusions or through sexual contact.
And while there have been no cases of transmission from mosquitoes in the continental United States, 35 cases have been confirmed among returning travelers as of February 3, CDC reports.
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).
“We have taken a cautious approach”, he said.
Much about the virus, including whether it can be transmitted from person to person, remains unclear. Thousands of babies have been born in Zika-affected regions with the birth defect microcephaly (although a causal relationship has not yet been scientifically established).
It also issued new guidelines for both pregnant women and women of reproductive age who live in affected areas.
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The outbreak of Zika infections, which started in northeastern Brazil, has been linked to more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly in the country.
