The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas affected by the Zika virus outbreak, amid mounting evidence Zika can cause birth defects. “And the modes of transmission now include sexual intercourse as well as mosquito bites”, Chan said.
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The U.S.is investigating more than a dozen possible cases of Zika in people who may have been infected through sex.
Nine countries with Zika outbreaks have now reported increases in Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves and causes paralysis, according to the WHO.
“Pregnant women whose sexual partners live in or travel to areas with Zika virus outbreaks should ensure safe sexual practices or abstain from sex for the duration of their pregnancy”, the World Health Organization said in a statement, based on advice from its Emergency Committee of independent experts.
This difference in microcephaly rates adds to evidence that could eventually prove Zika is the cause of the birth defect (though they have not yet done so).
So WHO strengthened its recommendations on travel, telling pregnant women straight up to stay away from Zika-affected countries.
PAHO has developed a strategy to help countries mitigate the impact of Zika virus, through strengthening their capabilities to detect the introduction and spread of the virus, reducing mosquito populations, ensuring the necessary health services, and communicating effectively with the public about risks and prevention measures.
“Here in California, and in the Bay Area, we’re privileged that we do not have conditions for transmission by mosquitoes of Zika”, he said.
The WHO said on Wednesday that widespread spraying to eliminate mosquitoes had failed to stop the spread of dengue fever and the same may be true of Zika.
WHO’s emergency committee has called for “intensified” research into the relationship between new clusters of babies born with abnormally small heads and other neurological disorders. Brazil said it has confirmed more than 640 cases of the disease and considers most to be related to Zika infection in mothers. To date, microcephaly has been documented in French Polynesia and Brazil.
The 55-year-old Montgomery County woman who tested positive for the virus “experienced a very mild illness”, Arkoosh said, and did not require hospitalization.
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In the meantime, in late February France confirmed its first European case of Zika being transmitted through sexual contact.
