As per two reports that appeared online on July 25 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s updated interim guidance has addressed the testing and management of expectant women with likely Zika virus exposure and prevention of Zika infection caused by sexual transmission.
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If couples are unsure if they’ve been exposed to Zika virus, they should wait at least eight weeks in general, they add.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been linked to hundreds of cases of microcephaly.
But it also spreads through any kind of sex, the CDC warns. Spain had 190 known cases of Zika infections at the latest count, 189 of which resulted from travelling overseas and one was sexually transmitted.
Until then, abstain from sex or use protection, they say.
Dr. Antonio Crespo is an infectious disease specialist at Orlando Health.
The virus can cause serious birth defects including microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains.
The CDC update has come up with the emerging data, suggesting that the detection of Zika virus RNA is possible in blood and urine for prolonged periods, much longer than the earlier suggested a week long window for testing following the emergence of symptoms, in a few pregnant women, and also in asymptomatic expectant women.
Zika virus is mainly transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.
A man can pass Zika virus to his partner(s) even if he doesn’t have symptoms at the time.
“Because the virus may not reach each corner of this region, or may do so slowly, the total figure of 1.65 million represents an upper limit estimate for the first wave of the epidemic”, they said.
However, “it is hard to accurately predict how many child-bearing women may be at risk from Zika, because a large proportion of cases show no symptoms”, Andrew Tatem, a geographer at the University of Southampton in England, pointed out in a university news release.
In February, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Zika a global health emergency as the virus had spread to almost 60 countries. The virus is now widespread in Latin America, particularly Brazil, and the Caribbean.
The risk of spread of Zika from the Olympics is relatively low when compared to the spread from normal tourism, he added.
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Keep in mind, it’s already winter in Rio so mosquito activity has subsided.
