State health officials confirmed Wednesday, Feb. 24 Michigan’s first Zika virus infection in an Ingham County woman, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
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The state health department, out of privacy concerns, refused to state which counties the women were located in or to identify them and recommended that pregnant women postpone travel to countries where the virus is prevalent. Like previously reported cases of sexual transmission, these cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners.
In addition to being spread by mosquitoes, there have been reports of Zika being sexually transmitted.
It, however, said although sexual transmission of Zika virus infection was possible, but mosquito bites remain the primary way that Zika virus is transmitted.
When the disease detectives are done with this historic research, they hope to shed light on these two crucial questions: What are the chances that a woman who contracts Zika during her pregnancy will have a baby with microcephaly?
The agency did not say exactly how numerous women were pregnant, but it reiterated its recommendation that people returning from Zika-infected areas use condoms or abstain from sex for the duration of their partner’s pregnancy.
Currently, the CDC has issued an advisory for pregnant women to avoid traveling to Zika-affected areas. All Zika testing is now done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control because the state doesn’t yet have the ability, but Minicuci said should within the next few weeks.
In most people, Zika causes mild or no symptoms – fever, joint pain, rash and red eyes – that last about a week. According to the state, only about one out of five people infected with Zika are symptomatic.
While Florida’s cases to date have originated through foreign travel, the state urges residents and visitors to protect themselves from mosquitoes.
Zika has caused outbreaks in at least 29 countries in the Americas. It is also a suspect behind the increasing number of Guillain-Barre syndrome cases that have appeared in areas where Zika has flourished.
Health officials confirmed that it was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.
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Jennifer McQuiston, deputy incident manager for the CDC, says of these findings, “As doctors become more aware of the sexual transmission risk, they will begin to test more and they will likely begin to find more”.
