Any sex partner, male or female, has actually potential to pass the virus on, agency says
WebMD News from HealthDay
By HealthDay staff
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — U.S. Good health officials on the subject of Monday updated their Zika virus guidelines, saying that pregnant ladies might deal Zika from a sex companion of either gender.
The virus can easily trigger significant birth defects consisting of microcephaly, where infants are born along with abnormally little heads and brains.
The Brand-new update follows news last week of the very first recorded female-to-male transmission of the virus throughout sex.
While mosquitoes are by much the the majority of common kind of transmission, instances of sex-related transmission can easily occur, either male-to-female, female-to-male or female-to-female.
For that reason, experts at the U.S. Facilities for Ailment Regulate and Prevention claim the Brand-new reminders “consist of the opportunity of sex-related transmission from an infected woman.”
“CDC recommends that all of pregnant ladies along with sex partners (male or female), that live in or traveled to a location along with Zika, usage condoms throughout sex or abstain from sex for the remainder of their pregnancy,” the agency said.
“Sex involves vaginal, anal and oral sex, and could likewise consist of the sharing of sex toys,” the CDC clarified.
These precautions now consist of either straight or lesbian couples where one companion might pass the virus on the subject of to her pregnant partner.
Any pregnant woman that suspects that she could have actually been exposed to Zika — either via a mosquito bite or sex-related contact along with an infected individual — must likewise be tested for the virus, the agency stressed.
The CDC likewise pointed out that “Brand-new write-up has actually meant that some infected pregnant ladies can easily have actually proof of Zika virus in their blood for much longer compared to the previously suggested seven-day window.”
Because of that Brand-new data, the agency now recommends that the moment frame for blood testing for Zika be lengthened to 14 days.
The vast majority of instances of Zika infection and associated microcephaly have actually taken place in Latin America, especially Brazil, where thousands of instances have actually been reported.
However, Zika could be making inroads in to the United States. Late last week, Florida Good health officials said they were investigating a 2nd feasible situation of locally transmitted Zika infection.
