Zika virus may be spread via sex, not just mosquitoes, two cases suggest

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Gisele Felix, who is five months pregnant, stands on a terrace next to her son Joao at her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday. Felix, who is concerned about the Zika virus, has not gone out of her house during her 30-day vacation, keeping all the windows and doors closed in an effort to keep out mosquitoes. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:15pm, 29 Jan 2016Updated: 9:32am, 1 Feb 2016

As global health experts scramble to understand how the Zika virus spreads and may lead to birth defects, two cases suggest it may be transmitted through sex, not just mosquitoes.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention principal deputy director Anne Schuchat was asked about a recent New York Times report on the subject.

“There is one reported case of Zika virus through possible sexual transmission,” she said.

“In another case, Zika virus was found in semen about two weeks after a man had symptoms with Zika virus infection, so that sort of gives you the biologic plausibility of spread.”

However, Schuchat added that “the science is very clear to date that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. So that is really where we are putting the emphasis right now.”

The World Health Organisation has warned that the virus is “spreading explosively” and may cause up to four million cases in the Americas. Meanwhile, Brazil is struggling to cope with a surge in microcephaly cases - in which babies are born with unusually small heads - with nearly 4,000 suspected cases since the outbreak began last year.