Women should not have sex while pregnant if male partners have visited or live in Zika-affected areas, agency says
FRIDAY, Feb. 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant
women with a male sexual partner who has traveled to, or lives in, an
area affected by active Zika virus transmission should refrain from sex
or use condoms during sex until the pregnancy is over, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention advised on Thursday.
The CDC said the precaution is in place "until we know more" about
the dangers of sexual transmission of the mosquito-borne virus, which is
linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly in newborns in Brazil.
Speaking at a Friday morning news conference, CDC director Dr Tom
Frieden also said the agency is investigating Brazilian research that
detected Zika virus in patients' saliva and urine. At this point,
however, the CDC's guidance to pregnant women does not include anything
about kissing, he said.
"We're not aware of any prior mosquito-borne disease associated with
such a potentially devastating birth outcome on a scale anything like
appears to be occurring with Zika in Brazil," Frieden added.
"Because this phenomenon is so new, we are quite literally discovering more about it each and every day," he said.
"Because it's new and can be so severe, it can be scary, especially
for women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy. There's no doubt
that over the coming months many more travelers will return to the
United States with Zika infection. Some of them will be pregnant women,"
Frieden said.
In the new advisory, the CDC added two new countries, Jamaica and
Tonga, to its travel alert list of nations that pregnant women should
avoid due to ongoing Zika virus transmission.
While the Zika epidemic first surfaced in Brazil last spring, Zika
virus has since spread to 30 countries and territories in South and
Central America and the Caribbean. Though a cause-and-effect link has
not been proven, many public health experts fear the virus can cause
microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with permanent
brain damage and very small heads.
On Tuesday, local health officials in Texas confirmed a case of Zika
virus infection that was transmitted by sex, and not by the bite of a
mosquito.
The Dallas County Health and Human Services Department said that an
unidentified patient had become infected with the Zika virus after
having sex with an individual who had returned from Venezuela, one of
the Latin American countries where Zika is circulating.
Scientists have suspected that Zika could be transmitted sexually,
and there have been scattered reports of similar occurrences in recent
years.
If research proves that the virus can be spread through sex, it could
complicate efforts to contain infections from the virus, which health
officials have said is "spreading explosively" across South and Central
America.
Ashley Thomas Martino is an assistant professor of pharmaceutical
sciences at St. John's University, in New York City, who teaches
infectious disease.
"We are dealing with an emerging strain of this virus. Zika is not
new -- it has been around since the 1950s -- but this strain is showing
that it can be transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus," he
said. "So, the occurrence of sexual transmission may be new, but it's
not that surprising given that we're dealing with a new strain of this
virus."
Martino added that "most cases will be transmitted via mosquito, and
this form of sexual transmission is likely to be a rare occurrence of
infection."
The blood supply is also being monitored closely. The American Red
Cross on Wednesday asked potential blood donors who have traveled to
areas where Zika infection is active to wait 28 days before giving
blood.
The chances of Zika-infected blood donations remain extremely low in
the United States, Dr. Susan Stramer, vice president of scientific
affairs at the American Red Cross, said in a statement
"The Red Cross continues to use safety measures to protect the blood
supply from Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses," she said.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika
virus a global health threat, based on the suspicion that the virus may
be to blame for thousands of birth defects in Brazil in the past year.
Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, said Monday that the
explosive growth of microcephaly cases in Brazil constitutes an
"extraordinary event and a public health threat to other parts of the
world."
Chan made her remarks during an emergency meeting at the U.N. health
agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to assess what is known
about the Zika virus and its potential relation to the surge of birth
defects in Brazil.
The WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the
Americas in the next year. However, no recommendations were made Monday
to restrict travel or trade, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. health officials have said it's unlikely that the Zika virus
will cause a widespread threat here, but some infections are likely to
occur.
The Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947, and until last
year was not thought to pose serious health risks. In fact,
approximately 80 percent of people who become infected never experience
symptoms.
But the increase of cases and birth defects in Brazil in the past
year -- suspected to exceed more than 4,100 -- has prompted health
officials to warn pregnant women or those thinking of becoming pregnant
to take precautions or consider delaying pregnancy.
"It is important to understand, there are several measures pregnant women can take," Chan said, the AP reported. "If you can delay travel and it does not affect your other family commitments, it is something they can consider.
"If they need to travel, they can get advice from their physician and
take personal protective measures, like wearing long sleeves and shirts
and pants and use mosquito repellent," she said.
There have been no outbreaks of Zika virus in the United States so
far. But, limited U.S. outbreaks are "possible" and "even likely" given
that the same sort of aggressive, day-biting mosquito that spreads Zika
is present in the southern United States, said Dr. Anne Schuchat,
principal deputy director of the CDC.
However, Schuchat emphasized that the main health concern at this time is for pregnant women who are exposed to the virus.
Although health officials view some U.S. cases of Zika infection as
likely, particularly in southern states, the United States enjoys
certain advantages that should keep such an outbreak limited to a small
area, Schuchat said.
Urban areas in the United States are less congested than they are in
other countries of the Americas, making it more difficult for mosquitoes
to spread disease hopping from one person to the next, she said.
Also, people in the United States are more likely to have their
windows shut, thanks to air conditioning, or to have screens on open
windows, which keep mosquitoes from invading their homes, she added.
SOURCES: Feb. 5, 2016 news conference with Dr. Tom Frieden,
director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Feb. 4,
2016, statement, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Feb.
3, 2016, statement, American Red Cross; Feb. 2, 2016, statement, Dallas
County Health and Human Services; Feb. 1, 2016, statement, Margaret
Chan, M.D., director general, World Health Organization, Geneva,
Switzerland; Anne Schuchat, M.D., principal deputy director, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ashley Thomas Martino,
Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, St. John's
University, New York City
You can stop illnesses carried by mosquitoes by preventing mosquito
bites and preventing mosquitoes from breeding in the home and in the
community.
