#11,577
The CDC has published a pair of Zika related MMWR Early Releases today.
The first looks at epidemic surveillance of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Puerto Rico concurrent with the arrival of Zika (see Guillain-Barré Syndrome During Ongoing Zika Virus Transmission — Puerto Rico, January 1–July 31, 2016).
The second describes what appears to be sexual transmission of the Zika virus from an asymptomatic male to a female partner.
While not a complete surprise, this is the sort of thing that is very difficult to determine in areas where other methods of transmission are also possible.
Follow the link below to read it in its entirety.
Likely Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus from a Man with No Symptoms of Infection — Maryland, 2016
Early Release / August 26, 2016 / 65
Richard B. Brooks, MD1,2; Maria Paz Carlos, PhD3; Robert A. Myers, PhD3; Mary Grace White, MPH4; Tanya Bobo-Lenoci, MS4; Debra Aplan, MSN5; David Blythe, MD2; Katherine A. Feldman, DVM2 (View author affiliations)
In June 2016, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) was notified of a nonpregnant woman who sought treatment for a subjective fever and an itchy rash, which was described as maculopapular by her provider. Laboratory testing at the Maryland DHMH Laboratories Administration confirmed Zika virus infection.
Case investigation revealed that the woman had not traveled to a region with ongoing transmission of Zika virus, but did have sexual contact with a male partner who had recently traveled to the Dominican Republic. The male partner reported exposure to mosquitoes while traveling, but no symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection either before or after returning to the United States. The woman reported no other sex partners during the 14 days before onset of her symptoms and no receipt of blood products or organ transplants.
(SNIP)
Current recommendations for the prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus in returning travelers differ depending on whether the returning traveler is symptomatic and on whether the couple is planning to become pregnant (3,6). Couples in areas without active Zika transmission with circumstances in which one partner traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission but did not develop symptoms of Zika virus disease should wait at least 8 weeks after the partner who traveled returned from the Zika-affected area before attempting conception, regardless of the sex of the traveler. Men with a diagnosis of Zika virus infection should wait at least 6 months before attempting conception, and women with a diagnosis of Zika virus infection should wait at least 8 weeks before attempting conception. Health care providers should counsel couples that correct and consistent use of condoms reduces the risk for sexually transmitted diseases and discuss the use of the most effective contraceptive methods that can be used correctly and consistently (6).
Couples who do not desire pregnancy should consider abstaining from sex or using the most effective contraceptive methods that can be used correctly and consistently in addition to barrier methods, such as condoms, which reduce the risk for sexual transmission of Zika virus and other sexually transmitted infections (3). As more is learned about the incidence and duration of seminal shedding of Zika virus in infected men, recommendations to prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus will be updated if needed.(Continue. . . )
