If you’re a pregnant woman living in among the 30 states known to be house to the Aedes aegypti mosquito — aka the kind that can easily carry the Zika virus — after that you may be feeling uncertain concerning exactly how to sustain your baby safe. After all, despite the fact that there is still considerably that is still unknown concerning the virus, just what is known, according to the Centers for Ailment Control, is that pregnant women that come to be infected along with the Zika virus can easily pass it on to their fetuses, where it can easily can induce a major form of the birth defect microcephaly, which restricts brain growth and can easily lead to severe impairments. Travel advisories for pregnant women have actually been established, however can you get hold of Zika from pregnancy sex?
According to the CDC, Zika can easily a lot of surely be sexually transmitted, specifically from an infected male to his partners. And, while so far, in cases of confirmed sexual transmission of the virus, the men that passed it on actively had symptoms of Zika, it is likewise feasible (though not yet proven) that it could be transmitted sexually by infected men that experience no symptoms whatsoever. Due to the fact that there is currently no vaccine, or any kind of surefire means for pregnant women (or anyone, really) to guarantee they won’t get hold of Zika, any kind of means to reduce the risk of contracting the virus is crucial — including, potentially, abstaining from sexual activity.
Men who’ve traveled to locations along with #Zika – if you have actually a pregnant partner, usage condoms or don’t have actually sex throughout the pregnancy.
— CDC Travel Healthiness (@CDCtravel) April 13, 2016
For a lot of people, Zika isn’t a substantial threat. According to the Daily Mail, the majority of those that contract Zika have actually no symptoms, and those that do usually experience minor ones, adore fever, rash, or physique aches. however the danger is that the effects of Zika can easily be devastating for babies in utero, which is why Zika is such a huge concern. While officials have actually recommended that pregnant women steer clear of locations where Zika-carrying mosquitoes could be present, studieshave now revealed that it’s likewise entirely feasible for a woman that has actually never ever been to a known Zika location to contract the virus through sexual contact, as the virus can easily exist in semen, and stay there for several weeks after the man has actually been infected.
So just what can easily pregnant women do to protect themselves and their babies now that the link between Zika and sexual transmission has actually been established? The CDC says using protection (and using it correctly) is key, for any sort of sexual activity, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex. But, as along with any kind of sexually transmitted Ailment or infection, the just surefire means to guarantee you don’t contract Zika is to steer clear of having sex entirely.
You can easily contract the Zika virus from unprotected sex. There’s no cure for the Zika virus. I’m not having sex.
— Jelani (@Rapture_Omega) April 8, 2016
Different risk factors affect exactly how long couples ought to adhere to these additional precautions concerning sex, and the CDC’s guideline is as follows:
Couples that contain a man that has actually been diagnosed along with Zika or had symptoms of Zika ought to think of using condoms or not having sex for atleast six months after symptoms begin. This entails men that live in and men that traveled to locations along with Zika.
Couples that contain a man that traveled to a location along with Zika however did not make symptoms of Zikashould think of using condoms or not having sex for at the very least 8 weeks after their return.
Couples that contain a man that lives in a location along with Zika however has actually not created symptoms of Zika ought to think of using condoms or not having sex while there is Zika in the area.
Currently, the CDC’s guidelines extend just “to individuals whose male sex partners live in or have actually traveled to a location along with Zika transmission,” so right now that means that a lot of couples in the U.S. are most likely to be at a reduced risk for sexual transmission. But, along with the Zika virus expected to strike the U.S. this summer, according to TIME, it’s most likely that a lot more couples will certainly be at risk for sexual transmission of the virus.
Thanks to the ease along with which the virus can easily be spread, the major complications it can easily cause, and the difficulty governments are having attempting to Regulate it, there’s no doubt that the Zika virus is a substantial threat. And along with mosquito season in the U.S. on the horizon, prevention will certainly come to be really crucial for very considerably everyone — especially women along with babies on the way.
