Skip to main content

Zika is now officially an STI in the US



ZIKA,  the mosquito-spread virus sparking outbreaks across the Western Hemisphere and suspected of causing birth defects and neurological problems, has been transmitted through sexual contact in the United States, the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) reported Tuesday.

A patient was infected via sexual contact with a person who had recently traveled to Venezuela, a country currently experiencing a Zika outbreak, the health department said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the infection. There is still no evidence that Zika is spreading in US mosquito populations.

“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,” Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director, said in a press release.

There had been anecdotal reports that Zika could spread through sexual contact, including a 2011 report that a Colorado man returning from a trip to Senegal passed a Zika infection on to his wife. The researchers suspected but couldn’t confirm sexual transmission. “If sexual transmission could be verified in subsequent studies, this would have major implications toward the epidemiology of [Zika virus]," the authors concluded.

Additional studies have also found evidence of Zika viral particles in semen.

In past comments to Ars, the CDC has downplayed concern over sexual transmission of the virus and its potential threat to public health. “CDC is aware of a few scientific papers that suggests Zika virus may be transmitted through sex. These papers point to a theoretical risk, but the science to date is clear that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito,” CDC spokesperson Candice Hoffman told Ars last week.

In an updated statement, the CDC said: "Based on what we know now, the best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites.  We do not have definitive information on the infectious time period, and will provide more guidance for individuals and clinicians as we learn more. Sexual partners can protect themselves by using condoms to prevent spreading sexually transmitted infections."

The agency also said that in the next few days it plans to issue guidance on preventing sexual transmission of Zika, which will particularly focus on the male sexual partners of women who are or who may be pregnant.

Typically, Zika infections only result in mild dengue-like symptoms—fever, rash, aches, and occasionally pink-eye. But in recent outbreaks, the virus as been linked to alarming upticks in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that leaves babies with severely shrunken heads and skulls, as well as a paralyzing neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The CDC has issued travel warnings for pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid traveling to more than two dozen countries and territories experiencing outbreaks.

Clarification: The CDC confirmed that the patient in Texas, who had not traveled, acquired a Zika infection.The agency did not investigate the transmission route.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Build Your Own Awesome Personal 3D Avatar with Avatara

Do you use social networks and want to build your own awesome 3D avatar? Maybe you want to send someone a cute cuddly image of yourself (kind of)? Or maybe you have your own ideas of what you would do with an Avatar… Well look no further than Avatara which I discovered from the MakeUseOf directory . You can create 3d avatars out of pre-set up templates or create your own from scratch. To start, visit Avatara’s homepage . You will see this screen: Click Get Started to umm, get started! That will take you to this screen: You see that you can build your own Avatar using an uploaded head shot like the Obama one above (just an example, guys). Or roll with one of their awesome avatars. I chose to start with a blank avatar by clicking Start with a blank avatar at the bottom of the screen. That takes you to here: I clicked on the filter at the top and told it to filter out everything but male characters and then I saw this: I rolled with Buck and continued. You need to click Select...
1 comment
Read more

Fun Tools to Translate Your Name into Japanese Calligraphy

Japanese calligraphy is an artistic writing style of the Japanese language. Its Chinese origins can be traced back to the twenty-eighth century BCE. Calligraphy found its way into Japanese culture in 600 CE and is known as the karayo tradition. For Westerners, calligraphy is forever fascinating. However, it takes years to learn how to properly draw the signs. Two basic principles must be known to understand Japanese writing: there are different writing styles and different alphabets. Kaisho for example, is a writing style most commonly used in print media. Tensho on the other hand is used in signatures. Other writing styles are Reisho, Gyosho and Sousho. The alphabets include Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. Katakana is used for writing foreign words. It can also serve to highlight words, in analogy to capital letters as we know them from the Roman / Latin alphabet (Romaji in Japanese). Each Kanji character has a meaning of its own, while Hiragana or Katakana characters merely repres...
Post a Comment
Read more

Boom, the startup that wants to build supersonic planes, just signed a massive deal with Virgin

Have you heard about Boom? Boom is a relatively new startup that’s aiming to build something pretty crazy. They’re not building an app… or a social network… or even some new gadget for the Kickstarter crowd. Boom wants to build planes. Really, really, really fast planes. Specifically, they’re trying to design and build a supersonic passenger plane that goes 2.2x the speed of sound. If all goes to plan, they’ll be able to shuttle people from New York to London in 3.5 hours, and SF to Tokyo in 4.5. Sound crazy? I wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth noting that the company is in the very early days for something as intensive, massive, and hugely expensive as designing and producing a passenger aircraft. They’re still working on their first prototype, and hope to fly it by late next year. But it’s also worth noting that the team behind the plane has some serious talent in its blood: the company’s 11 employees have collectively contributed to over 30 aircrafts — having worked on thin...
Post a Comment
Read more