According to Dr. Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, looking at the Zika virus as more than just a mosquito-borne disease is the new normal.
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“Based on this new evidence, the recommended length of time for safer sex practices for asymptomatic males returning from areas with active Zika virus transmission was extended from eight weeks to six months”, World Health Organization said in a statement.
“This is the same length of time as is recommended for symptomatic males”.
The advice applies even if a person has no symptoms. The six-month duration of safe sex practice upon return has not changed.
The WHO added that women who have had unprotected sex and do not wish to become pregnant due to concerns about the virus must have ready access to emergency contraceptive services and counselling.
Pregnant women are advised not to travel to Zika infected areas or to have sex with partners who have lived or travelled to infected areas due to the risk of giving birth to baby with microcephaly or other severe birth defects.
A major challenge in identifying the Zika virus is that the symptoms are so mild.
“Zika is a sexually transmitted disease now – we need to start thinking of it that way”, Neuman said.
Subsequently, on August 23, officials confirmed three more cases; two of which were reported in women and two of which were transmitted locally, via mosquitoes in the area infected with the Zika virus.
“We examined the saliva of the common mosquito to see if we could detect the virus but we found no Zika”. It’s also found in urine, but there’s no evidence people can pass it to one another that way. The study, fast-tracked for publication in Cell Reports, was conducted in mice, thereby creating an animal model for studying transmission and treatment of this alarming virus.
After 28 days, the researchers tested the infected mice and found that the animals’ tears contained Zika’s RNA – the genetic material from the virus – but not infectious virus.
Health officials advise precautions and remind people of how the virus can be spread, to avoid further infection.
No cases of the virus have been contracted through local mosquitoes in Georgia, health officials said online.
There is now no vaccine for Zika, and Singapore has said the virus is likely to be in the country to stay, given the prevalence of the Aedes mosquitoes that carry it in this small, tropical island.
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Meanwhile, 33 cases have been linked to South America.
