Patient infected through sexual contact
Health officials say a patient in Texas has acquired the Zika virus through sexual transmission.
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) said Tuesday it received confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a country where Zika was present.
The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites. Investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. It was found in one man’s semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008.
Health officials note there are no reports of Zika being transmitted by mosquitoes in the U.S.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. It has recently been linked with a spiralling rise in reported cases of microcephaly — a rare birth defect causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and can lead to lasting developmental problems.
“Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others,” said Zachary Thompson, director of DCHHS, in a news release.
“Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infections.”
There is no vaccine for the virus, which has spread through the Americas, infecting people in more than 20 countries. The WHO said the total number of cases could hit 4 million by the end of the year.