“Like previously reported cases of sexual transmission, these cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners”, the CDC said in a statement.
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All of them involve men in the United States who had recently traveled to places where the virus is actively spreading, and their female sex partners who had not traveled, the CDC announced today (Feb. 23).
Two of the cases are in women whose only known risk is sexual contact with a male partner exhibiting symptoms of the virus after returning from an infected area, according to the CDC.
Brazil considered most of the cases of babies born with abnormally small heads to be related to Zika, though the link between the virus and the birth defects has not been scientifically established.
US health officials are investigating more than a dozen possible Zika infections that may have been spread through sex.
The primary method of infection of the virus remains mosquito bites.
One recent report suggested that while existing bookings may remain intact, what destinations with Zika transmission need to be prepared for is an impact on future ones.
There is now no cure against the Zika virus and large-scale trials of vaccines in development are still at least 18 months away.
Residents are also urged to take necessary precautions and eliminate mosquito larva in their homes and workplaces.
A pregnant woman looks on as mosquito nets are used at the Women National Hospital in an effort to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes that might carry Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses, in San Salvador, El Salvador.
But on day one of the study’s data-collection phase, the same precarious conditions that contributed to the proliferation of the mosquito-borne virus throughout the region proved to be a stumbling block for researchers, even in Paraiba state’s more-developed capital, Joao Pessoa.
“I come from a pediatric infectious disease background and am also a mom, so looking at these children clinically, they were distinct from other congenital infections I’ve seen”, said Staples, who spent time in Brazil recently as part of a World Health Organization mission.
According to the CDC’s website, 82 reports of travel-associated Zika virus have been documented within the continental U.S.so far, but no cases of locally acquired Zika virus reports have been documented.
“The science is not clear on how long the risk should be avoided”, the CDC said in its announcement. The U.S. cases may help scientists figure out more about how the virus tends to move.
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The American Red Cross has also asked potential blood donors who have traveled to Zika-affected areas to wait 28 days before giving blood.
