Authorities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several state public health departments are now investigating 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of Zika virus. In addition to the confirmed cases, the CDC has preliminary test results on four women and the remaining eight cases are in varying degrees of investigation.
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The women had not recently traveled to places where the virus is widely circulating, but they’d had sex with male partners who had recently returned from such travel and had Zika symptoms.
The CDC on Tuesday reiterated those recommendations, saying that “these new reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of transmission for Zika virus than previously considered”. The researchers found that 91 percent of the respondents reported that they know mosquitoes carry the virus and transmit it. All appear to be cases of sexual transmission. The WHO declared the Zika outbreak, which has spread to more than 30 countries, an global health emergency on February 1.
Zika virus infection generally causes mild symptoms, but it may be linked to thousands of cases of birth defects in Brazil known as microcephaly, which is marked by undersized heads and underdeveloped brains. She said researchers still aren’t sure whether only men who have symptoms can transmit the disease to their partners, but it’s a possibility scientists are exploring.
But Chan also said it will be a long, hard fight to stamp out the virus, which is strongly suspected of causing a serious birth defect in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant.
If confirmed, the unexpectedly high number would have major implications for controlling the virus, which is usually spread by mosquito bites.
But with Zika, right now the only way the virus is getting to unaffected countries like the U.S.is in the bodies of travelers.
For those not planning a pregnancy, the CDC says they “might consider abstaining from sexual activity or using condoms consistently and correctly during sex”.
“The CDC still feels that mosquito-borne transmission is the most common route for Zika”, says McQuiston.
Teams will also be on the lookout for other factors that, possibly in conjunction with Zika, could be behind Brazil’s increase in microcephaly, such as a prior infection with dengue, toxoplasmosis or the ingestion of toxins.
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The primary method of infection of the virus remains mosquito bites. “Research is now underway to answer this question as soon as possible”, the CDC added.
