Global health experts agreed Wednesday to prioritise developing vaccines against the Zika virus suspected of causing birth defects, but a Brazilian specialist warned that doing so would take at least three years.
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The male patient, who presented with Zika-related symptoms, recently returned to the Louisville area from Central America. Tests results were reported on Wednesday, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has been testing samples from across the United States. Zika is typically spread by mosquitoes, though there have been reports of transmission through sex.
Nonetheless, the World Health Organization said in the NEJM that, despite the lack of proof linking Zika virus with neurological disorders, “the severe potential risks demand decisive, immediate action to protect public health”.
Zika virus can spread from a pregnant woman to her baby during pregnancy. But for most people, Zika infections are relatively harmless.
The virus is suspected of causing the epidemic that began last spring in Brazil, where there have been more than 5,600 suspected or confirmed cases of microcephaly.
There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine available to treat Zika virus.
But Cordero, a former assistant USA surgeon general, and others say this is the wrong approach, given growing evidence men can transmit the virus to women sexually.
“If a person comes with fever, body pain and severe headache or complications such as bleeding, we will check them for dengue”, explained Dr Rose Nani Mudin, head of the Health Ministry’s Vector Borne Disease Sector (Disease Control Division).
For those who aren’t pregnant, concern of the Zika virus should be minimal, said Allison Land, assistant professor at Minnesota State University. Localized areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing can be hard to determine and are likely to continue to change over time.
If the partner isn’t pregnant, men “might consider” abstaining or using condoms, according to the guidelines. During an outbreak of Zika from 2013-14 in French Polynesia, national health authorities reported an unusual increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Health officials on campus said symptoms are often mild, and can include headaches, rashes and fevers.
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Though the link between the virus and microcephaly has not been scientifically established, traces of the virus have been found in laboratory tests of bodily fluids and tissue of mothers and babies affected by the condition.
