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
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? The state department said that using routine celebrations or public remarks as a pretext for provocation would undermine peace and stability Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech today as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims. A state department spokesperson said it could not speculate on what China would or would not do. “However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS