Texas Zika Case Raises Concerns that Virus can be Transmitted Sexually
Health News A case of the Zika virus being transmitted between sexual partners reported on Tuesday in Texas has raised new concerns about the transmission of the disease, which is typically spread by mosquitoes and can cause birth defects. The patient, whose gender has not been released, was the first person confirmed to have been infected with the virus in the US. Cases of Zika being spread by sexual contact have only rarely been reported, and health authorities had previously treated the idea that sexual transmission was possible as theory rather than documented science. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Tuesday that the patient had contacted the virus after having sexual contact with someone who had travelled to a country where Zika is present. The Dallas County health department said the sexual partner had travelled to Venezuela, but that the patient had not left the country, and had been infected in Texas.