But doctors have found it is more likely for men to transmit the virus sexually than women, and a pregnant woman can possibly become infected through various types of sex, including oral sex.
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These precautions now include either straight or lesbian couples where one partner could pass the virus on to her pregnant partner. Expanding the use of the Zika-specific test could provide more women with Zika virus infection a definite diagnosis and help direct medical evaluation and care.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the country’s disease watchdog, in updated guidance on the virus said it usually causes a mild illness that typically lasts between two and seven days. St. Croix has reported 19 cases, and St. John has reported its first case. That case involved a woman in Miami-Dade County, while the newer, second case involved a resident of Broward County, north of Miami. But Colombian health officials say the number of new infections in their country is falling by more than 600 a week, meaning that the virus has moved into an “endemic” phase in which it continues to circulate but is no longer spreading pervasively. The infected person recently returned from traveling to an area with on-going Zika transmission by mosquitoes.
The International Olympic Committee has said it is “fully confident” about the Brazilian government’s handling of the Zika crisis.
Brazil has been the country hardest hit by the virus, for which there is now no vaccine or cure.
The Zika virus may have made the leap to a different kind of mosquito – one common in Alabama – but mosquito experts at Auburn University say that might not be as worrisome as it sounds. The later arrival of the virus to Colombia allowed authorities to prepare a public awareness campaign aimed especially at poor women.
There have been no reports of Zika being transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas County.
To date there have been 12 births affected by the Zika virus in the United States. Only about 20 percent of patients notice symptoms. It rarely causes neurological complications such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, just as other infections can.
“If a woman is pregnant in an endemic area, she should either abstain from sex or having protected sex with condoms and barrier methods for the duration of the pregnancy”, England said.
The Centers for Disease Control released new guidelines for treating Zika, Monday.
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This Q&A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
