Men with a pregnant sex partner who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission should consistently and correctly use condoms during sexual activity or abstain from sexual activity for the duration of the pregnancy.
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The CDC is warning pregnant women against travel to affected areas, and health officials in several of the affected countries are telling women there to avoid becoming pregnant. As for men with partners who are not pregnant, they should “consider” abstinence or condom use if they visit or live in a Zika-affected country.
RIO DE JANEIRO Feb 5 Scientists identified the Zika virus in the saliva and urine of two infected patients, a top Brazilian biomedical research institution said on Friday, prompting its president to urge pregnant women not to kiss strangers just as local carnival celebrations begin.
Langhi said he had been told that researchers investigating the transplant case had determined that the patient contracted Zika through the transfusion, and not through a bite by the Aedes mosquito that is the virus’ main vector. “I understand that this is a stressful situation for women and families and particularly for women who are pregnant and what we are doing in our efforts is prioritizing all of the work we can do to protect pregnant women”, he said. It was the first time during the current worldwide epidemic that Zika had spread within the United States. “We can not forget that [the mosquito] is proven to be the vector for dengue, chikungunya and Zika”.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says laws and policies that restrict access to birth control services must be repealed amid the explosive outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas, which has been linked to an increase in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads.
“When you find a virus or fingerprints of a virus in a body secretion, it absolutely does not mean that it is transmitted that way”, Fauci said.
The Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and is suspected of links to a condition that can have devastating effects on unborn children. Because only one in five people have symptoms of the virus, tests try to detect those antibodies to determine exposure. However, he said that more information is needed on those findings, including the methodology behind them, and the recent guidelines do not address kissing.
Zika was previously thought to only be transmitted by mosquitoes.
“Sexual transmission of Zika virus from infected women to their sex partners has not been reported”, it adds, however.
“We’re not aware of any other mosquito-borne disease with such devastating outcomes” of birth defects, Frieden said.
The virus is believed to remain in an infected person’s blood for a week or less. Providers should contact their state health department to facilitate testing.
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Zika was discovered in a Ugandan forest in 1947; until past year, the virus had never caused serious disease.
