Schaffner also said that transmission of the virus through saliva seemed unlikely even though certain other viruses like hepatitis or HIV can spread through the saliva of a person, such transmissions are not very common and not the main source of spread of the infection.
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Pregnant women who have symptoms consistent with Zika should be tested when they’re ill.
Fulbright says anyone can become infected, but pregnant women or women who are trying to get pregnant should be most concerned.
Health officials have warned against traveling to the two dozen or so countries affected by the virus.
The Ministry made the decision in the wake of Thursday’s revelations that seven cases, including a pregnant woman, of the virus have been detected in Spain, all in people who had visited countries where the virus is prevalent, Xinhua reported. However it has been confirmed to spread by mosquitos, sexual transmission and, according to Brazilian Health officials, blood transfusions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued new guidance aimed at reducing the risk of sexual transmission of Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that has spread across the Americas and been tied to an alarming rise in birth defects.
The Ades mosquito that carries the Zika virus.
Pregnant women should discuss their male partner’s potential exposures to mosquitoes and history of Zika-like illness with their health care provider; providers can consult CDC’s guidelines for evaluation and testing of pregnant women.
Frieden also said there is a growing body of evidence linking the Zika virus to the microcephaly birth defect, although all cases of the birth defect have been reported in Brazil or a woman who went to Brazil before giving birth in Hawaii.
Paulo Gadelha, the head of the Fiocruz Institute which is part of the Ministry of Health, said: “The presence of the active Zika virus has been found in saliva and urine”.
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With the Zika virus having arrived in the United States, federal health officials on Friday outlined recommendations to prevent infected people from spreading the virus through sexual contact. The other is for men who live in or have traveled to Zika-affected regions to consistently and correctly use condoms during sex with a pregnant partner. Several Latin American nations have urged women to postpone pregnancies.
