One woman gave birth in Hawaii to a child with microcephaly; officials said she likely contracted the virus while living in Brazil.
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On Tuesday, Texas, U.S. reported the first case Zika being sexually transmitted after the patient reportedly had sex with someone who returned from Venezuela.
Asked during a conference call with reporters how likely it might be that Zika could spread through saliva and urine, Frieden said “we just have no data to inform that”.
Gavel said more tests need to be carried out to definitively confirm the above-mentioned hypothesis.
The virus is predominantly spread through mosquitoes in Brazil. Both people are females in their 20s who recently traveled to Zika-affected countries.
USA health experts cautioned Friday that the apparent discovery of the Zika virus in saliva and urine from people in Brazil does not necessarily mean the virus can be spread by more casual contact with infected people, such as through kissing.
Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, are extremely unlikely to be able to survive and breed in the United Kingdom due to its lower temperature.
The CDC urged couples in which a partner is not pregnant to “consider using condoms consistently and correctly during sex or abstaining from sexual activity”.
5, 2016, US health officials said men who have been to a Zika outbreak region should use condoms if they have sex with a pregnant woman – for the entire duration of the pregnancy. The CDC said there have been 50 such cases so far. Under Colombian law, abortion is legal for women whose foetuses show a malformation that makes life unviable, if the pregnancy was a result of rape, or if the woman’s health is in danger.
“The city of Houston’s Health Department, along with the county, along with Harris County Flood Control, along with the medical providers, are in direct communication right now, working in collaboration”, said Turner.
Zika virus has reportedly made its way to Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
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Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitos, has few effects on most people, but is believed to be responsible for serious birth defects in babies born to infected mothers. It has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis.
