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CDC: 14 new reports of possible sexually transmitted Zika virus
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday that it is investigating more than a dozen possible Zika virus infections that may have been spread through sex, including “several” involving pregnant women.
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In two women who tested positive for Zika, their only contact with the virus came from sex with a sick male partner who had traveled to an area with local Zika transmission, or areas where the disease is traveling via mosquito.
Since it first surfaced last spring, the virus has spread to over 30 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. And an investigation is ongoing in eight other suspected events.
The link hasn’t been confirmed but the possibility has prompted health officials to take cautionary steps to protect fetuses from the virus.
“Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others”, explained Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director.
“These new reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of transmission for Zika virus than previously considered”.
More than 4,000 reported cases of microcephaly have been registered in Brazil, among them more than 400 have been confirmed.
BRASÍLIA, Brazil-The head of the World Health Organization expressed confidence Tuesday that Brazil can host the Rio Olympics safely despite the Zika threat, while warning of a long battle against the mosquito-borne virus. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms.
The virus is already strongly suspected to be linked to microcephaly – a birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small brains and skulls. At present, several countries including the United States are working to produce a vaccine for the Zika virus.
It also added three locations – Trinidad, Tobago and the Marshall Islands – to its list of travel notices in relation to the virus. “The average person is really at very low risk of developing Zika infection or getting really sick from it”, Schuchat said.
The biggest concern is among pregnant women, who often unwillingly transfer the virus to their unborn child.
To help tease out what role Zika virus might have played, researchers will compare the two groups, analyzing blood samples to test for Zika and dengue viruses, the AP reported. “However, we should still focus on Zika spreading through mosquitos”.
Earlier this month, CDC officials reported a handful of cases in which sexual transmission of Zika may have occurred, including one case in Texas. “For the time being we are telling women to avoid sex or to be careful during sex with a partner who is coming back from an area where Zika is”.
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Thus, 14 such reports, including pregnant women, will be looked into.