The virus has been linked with microcephaly – a brain disease where babies are born with abnormally small heads – besides a range of other developmental problems.
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It was just last week when the first recorded female-to-male transmission of the virus was propounded.
Since Zika arrived to Colombia in September 2015 there have been nearly 100,000 cases reported, although laboratory tests have confirmed only around 9,000.
The health officials have advised all couples to use condoms especially in cases where a partner (male or female) has been in a Zika infected area in the past.
CDC also advises that pregnant women, with possible Zika exposure but no symptoms, receive testing as well.
A woman in Slovenia who was pregnant with a baby with microcephaly was previously found to have been carrying the virus, but she made a decision to have an abortion.
In a new study published Monday, British researchers out of the universities of Oxford and Notre Dame estimated that 1.6 million childbearing women in Central and South America could get infected. Pregnant women shouldn’t plan travel to a region with active Zika virus transmission, and must take proper strict measures to avoid mosquito bites in case they go to the Zika-hit regions.
Any pregnant woman who suspects that she may have been exposed to Zika – either through a mosquito bite or sexual contact with an infected person – should also be tested for the virus, the agency stressed. Spanish Secretary of Public Health Joan Guiz said five other women with the virus have given birth to seemingly healthy babies “in recent months”. New York City Department of Health Officials said the infant’s mother contracted the virus while visiting an area affected by it. Sex includes vaginal, anal, and oral sex.
The regional government of Catalonia, Generalitat reported that a total of 91 cases had been detected in Catalonia, 21 of them were pregnant women, of which five gave birth to healthy children. Mosquitos that can carry Zika have not been found in MS for the past few decades, but the MSDH is now watching mosquito populations in the state.
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CDC will continue to update its guidance related to Zika virus transmission and related health effects based on the accumulating evidence, expert opinion, and knowledge about the risk associated with other viral infections.
