26, 2016, US health officials reported the first case of Zika spread through sex by a man who had no symptoms of the disease.
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Of the cases in Puerto Rico, 34 patients had evidence of a flavivirus infection, such as Zika, dengue or Chikungunya, and 10 had confirmed Zika virus infections.
Akiko Iwasaki, Senior Author and Immunobiologist at Yale University, said that the study observed replication of the Zika virus in the vaginal tissue of wild-type mice and mice genetically modified to be susceptible to Zika. However, the newborn’s blood tested positive for the Zika virus and at 67 days, health officials detected a “clear neurological decline”.
Zika was detected in Brazil previous year and has since spread across the Americas.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended Friday that all blood donation centers across the country begin testing donations for Zika virus to protect the U.S. blood supply. The list of active Zika transmission areas was recently expanded to include two Florida counties.
Overall, the Guillain-Barre surveillance system identified 56 cases of the syndrome in people infected from January 1 to July 31, 2016, officials from the Puerto Rican health department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday in the CDC’s weekly report on death and disease.
While Zika is primarily spread through mosquito bites, there have been reports in Brazil of Zika transmission through transfusion. Parts of Florida have also experienced local Zika transmission.
The mosquito-borne virus is circulating in the Dominican Republic, but the man had experienced no Zika symptoms, such as fever, pink eye or rash.
There were no new locally transmitted cases Friday, which stands at 42, mostly in Miami-Dade and a couple in Pinellas and Palm Beach counties.
In addition, Red Cross is conducting blood donor tests for Zika virus in five southeastern states believed to be at greater risk of local mosquito transmission.
This new twist in the myriad ways Zika can spread should strengthen warnings to couples hoping to start a family if either one plans to travel anywhere the virus is active, health officials said. A small number of those people, however, got the disease from having sex with someone who harbored the virus.
The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where active Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas. Partners of pregnant women are advised to use a condom to guard against sexual transmission during pregnancy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on mosquito-borne diseases.
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This Q & A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
