Zika Virus Transmitted through Sexual contact in U.S. Confirmed in Texas- First case

A person in Texas has contracted the Zika virus after having sex with someone who became infected while traveling in Venezuela, health officials said Tuesday.

The case represents the first known sexual transmission of Zika in the U.S. during the current outbreak.

 

"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," Dallas County Health and Human Services director Zachary Thompson said.

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"Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infections."

The alarming development prompted health officials to point out that sexual transmission of Zika is unlikely to be a common occurrence in the U.S.

The virus — which is spreading rapidly throughout the Americas — is typically transmitted through mosquito bites.

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Scientists had previously suspected that Zika could be transmitted through sex, but the evidence was too slim to render a definitive conclusion.

There remain no documented cases of Zika virus infection by mosquito bite in the U.S.

All but one of the dozens of people diagnosed in the U.S. contracted the disease while traveling in affected regions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A baby born with Zika in Hawaii last month was infected by her mother who had contracted the virus in Brazil.

The disease has been linked to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and brain defects.

It wasn't the first time Zika was linked to sexual contact.

A Colorado-based researcher from the CDC is believed to have infected his wife in 2008 after returning from a trip to Senegal.

Five years later, researchers working to stem an outbreak in French Polynesia isolated the virus in the semen of a patient.

At least 28 countries are battling outbreaks of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Brazil — the hardest hit country — is investigating 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly in babies linked to the Zika virus.

The World Health Organization declared Zika an international health emergency on Monday.

The group has warned that the virus is spreading “explosively” — and estimated that there could be up to 4 million cases in the Americas in the next year.