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 Previously, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
other experts, believed that the virus could only be sexually
transmitted by males because it can reside in semen potentially for
several months.
For that reason, the CDC had recommended that men who had been
infected abstain from unprotected sexual contact for at least six
months with a partner who is pregnant or hoping to become pregnant.
But a recently reported case of female-to-male sexual transmission
in New York City, and limited human and non-human primate data
indicating that Zika virus RNA can be detected in vaginal
secretions, led to the new warning, the agency said.
CDC's expanded warnings on sexual exposure to Zika now caution
against sex without a condom or other barrier method of protection
with any person, male or female, who has traveled to or lives in an
area with Zika, including female to female transmission with a
pregnant partner.
CDC also provided updated interim guidance for healthcare providers
caring for pregnant women with possible exposure to the virus,
expanding the window for Zika-specific blood testing from a week
after the onset of symptoms, or believed exposure, to 14 days.
"New information has indicated that some infected pregnant women can
have evidence of Zika virus in their blood for longer than the
previously recommended seven-day window for testing after symptoms
begin, and that even pregnant women without symptoms can have
evidence of the virus in their blood and urine," the agency said.
CDC also advises that pregnant women, with possible Zika exposure
but no symptoms, receive testing as well.
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"Expanding the use of the Zika-specific test could provide more
women with Zika virus infection a definite diagnosis and help direct
medical evaluation and care," CDC said.
Zika has been proven to cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by
small head size that can lead to serious developmental problems, and
has been linked to other severe fetal brain abnormalities. The
connection between Zika and microcephaly came to light last fall in
Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,600 cases of
microcephaly that it considers related to Zika infections in the
mothers.
CDC has currently listed 400 pregnant women in the United States
with evidence of Zika exposure on its registry.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Tom Brown)
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