US health authorities recommend that couples wishing to have a child wait at least six months after the men’s last exposure to Zika.
The United States is reviewing its advice to couples and future parents regarding the Zika epidemic. Men infected, or exposed by mosquito bite in a risk area or by unprotected sexual intercourse, should wait at least six months after the onset of symptoms or exposure before any unprotected sexual intercourse, especially if it is performed for reproductive purposes. For women, this duration does not change and is evaluated at 2 months.
These new recommendations from the American Centers for disease control (CDC) are based on recent studies showing that the virus can be active in sperm up to six months after the onset of the disease. This is why the CDC applies the same recommendations to all couples whose men may have been infected in the 59 countries and American territories exposed.
Condoms and female contraception
“Couples possibly exposed to Zika, whose wives are not pregnant and who are not planning a pregnancy, should use a condom or abstain from sex for the respective durations described if they want to minimize their risk of sexual transmission of Zika. virus,” the CDC statement read.
“Women of childbearing age who may have been exposed, or anticipate that they may be exposed, and who are not planning a pregnancy, are advised to use the most effective contraceptive methods conscientiously, on an ongoing basis,” they added.
The United States exposed by its overseas territories
Health authorities insist that Zika virus infections take asymptomatic forms, and that these recommendations apply to everyone, sick or not. In countries where Zika is endemic, a significant portion of the population could be infected without developing symptoms. All Americans who have traveled to any area where local transmission has been noted should therefore observe these recommendations.
A pregnancy triggered before the end of this waiting period could cause malformations in the child. In particular, the fetuses of infected mothers show microcephaly, a major developmental delay of the brain and the cranial box.
The endemic areas of the virus are at the gates of the United States, by its geographical location close to South America, and by its overseas territories where the virus is present. The Secretary of State for Health reported as of September 28 3,625 cases on the mainland, especially in the southeast of the country, and 25,600 cases of Zika in the United States and its territories.
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