The WHO yesterday voiced concern over a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the US and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the US was reported in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.
“We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.
“This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission,” he said, referring to media reports about a case of a US man who returned from Senegal and is suspected of infecting his wife.
The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and other birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly.
The WHO global response team was to discuss the sexual transmission report among other issues at its daily meeting later yesterday, Hartl said.
“There are many things we don’t know about Zika,” he said. “Lots of surveillance is needed... We have our team set up and are sure there will be lots of progress quickly.”
For now, the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitoes and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Hartl said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the Texas case was the first US Zika case in someone who had not traveled abroad in the current outbreak, CDC Director Tom Frieden said on Twitter.
However, the CDC has not investigated how the virus was transmitted.
After this case, the CDC advised men to consider using condoms after traveling to areas with the Zika virus. Pregnant women should avoid contact with semen from men exposed to the virus.
The Dallas County Health and Human Services said on Twitter that the person was infected through sexual contact with someone who had traveled to Venezuela.
The person infected did not travel to the South American country, agency officials said.
“It’s very rare, but this is not new,” agency Director Zachary Thompson told WFAA-TV in Dallas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services was slightly more cautious in its assessment, saying in a statement: “Case details are being evaluated, but the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person is likely in this case.”
County authorities said there were no reports of the virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the Texas county.
The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant.
Additional reporting by AP
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