A patient from Dallas, Texas (United States) was infected with the Zika virus after having sex with a woman who was returning from Venezuela, one of the countries affected by the virus. If this is indeed sexual transmission, then this would only be the second such case reported in the United States.
“Now that we know this disease can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, it reinforces the value of an awareness campaign to educate the public and teach them how to protect others” Dallas Health Services Director Zachary Thompson said in a statement.
But for now, experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only want to talk about a “theoretical risk” of sexual transmission and note, in the New York Times, that the main known vector transmission of the disease remains the tiger mosquito.
35 countries or territories affected by the virus
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) has qualified this epidemic as a “public health emergency of global concern” because Latin America is no longer the only one affected by domestic cases. Thirty-five countries or territories are now affected by this virus which is not fatal but which can cause neurological damage to fetuses whose mothers were infected.
In Europe and North America, dozens of cases have been reported in people returning from trips to affected countries, but the concern is less because low winter temperatures prevent mosquitoes from surviving.
Find out more: Ourfile on the zika virus
