First U.S. Zika virus transmission reported, attributed to sex
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day after the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency.
The virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and WHO officials on Tuesday expressed concern that it could hit Africa and Asia as well. Zika had been thought to be spread by the bite of mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, so sexual contact as a mode of transmission would be a potentially alarming development.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it was the first U.S. Zika case in someone who had not traveled abroad in the current outbreak, said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden 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.
Initially, limited to the Americas, the virus has spread rapidly to Europe and prompted the World Health Organisation to declare it a global emergency.
The Director-General, WHO, Margaret Chan, issued the health alert on Monday after a meeting with the organisation’s disease control committees in Geneva.
Chan said, “I am now declaring that the recent cluster of Zika virus- related microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.”
According to her, the priorities of countries are to protect pregnant women and their babies from harm and to control the mosquitoes that are spreading the virus.
The WHO warned that Zika was likely to spread explosively across nearly all of the Americas with more than 20 countries, including Brazil reporting new cases daily.
Chan added, “Currently, there is no vaccine or medication to stop Zika. The only way to avoid catching it is to avoid getting bitten by the Aedes mosquitoes that transmit the infection.”
Last week, the Federal Government had alerted Nigerians about the outbreak of Zika virus infection, with directive that the citizens, especially pregnant women, should be restricted from traveling to Latin America until the situation improves.
The government directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to include Zika virus diagnosis as part of the ongoing efforts to manage Lassa fever outbreak in the country, adding that anyone coming from any of the Latin American countries should be interviewed at the various ports of entry to ascertain evidence of Zika virus symptoms.
A statement by the Federal Ministry of Health quoted the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, as saying, “The World Health Organisation has raised a global alert because the disease has affected about 23 countries in Americas especially in Latin America. At the moment, there is no cure or vaccine for Zika virus infection.
“The Federal Ministry of Health hereby advises a travel restriction especially by pregnant women to Latin America for now until the situation improves. In addition, we have directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to include Zika virus diagnosis as part of ongoing effort to manage Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
“Nigerians should be vigilant and report promptly any case of unexplained fever that is more than 48 hours, especially in those with recent travels to Latin America, to health care professionals.
“Nigerians working at various ports of entry into the country should interview anyone coming from any of the Latin American countries for evidence of Zika virus symptoms.”
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