Up to 1.6 million child-bearing women in Central and South America may be at risk for infection with the Zika virus by the end of the first phase of the epidemic, new research suggests.
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Vice Health Minister Fernando Ruiz told journalists that the number of infections in Colombia has been falling by 600 cases a week.
The updated recommendations for pregnant couples include pregnant women with female partners who are potentially infected with Zika and offer advice for potentially infected women about how to reduce their risk of transmitting the virus to their partners.
Reports suggest all healthcare providers caution both men and women, to practice safe sex after a female-to-male Zika case was recorded in NY.
So far, it’s been linked to a 20-fold increase in a rare defect called microcephaly in babies, in which infants are born with irregularly small heads and underdeveloped brains.
The vast majority of cases of Zika infection and associated microcephaly have occurred in Latin America, especially Brazil, where thousands of cases have been reported. Late last week, Florida health officials said they were investigating a second possible case of locally transmitted Zika infection. Two of which, were in Miami-Dade, one in Okaloosa, one in Orange and one involving a pregnant woman.
In a “worse-case scenario”, only three to 37 athletes, tourists and journalists travelling to Rio de Janeiro could bring Zika virus back to their home countries, Yale University scientists said in new findings also published Monday.
Aside from wearing protection or abstaining from sex altogether, taking steps to avoid getting bitten by Zika-infected mosquitoes is also recommended by the CDC. Infections have also been reported in other Latin American and Caribbean nations. CDC officials said they’ll continue to update the guidelines as new information becomes available.
More than 50 countries have Zika travel warnings.
The CDC has reported 14 cases of sexually transmitted infections.
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Typically, the Zika virus doesn’t cause serious illness. It used to be that a pregnant patient or her sexual partner had to travel to an area in the current Zika danger zones and develop symptoms before the CDC would unequivocally recommend testing.
