WHAT鈥橲 yours is mine. Last week, it was in semen for two months, posing potential risks of sexual transmission long after any symptoms, such as a week-long rash, have vanished.
鈥淎s far as we are aware, there is no evidence Zika virus persists in the female genitals鈥�
Zika is already known to have been transmitted via sex from men to women. But it is unlikely that women can pass the virus onto men in this way, says the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which recommends that men wear a condom for six months after symptoms stop.
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鈥淎s far as we are aware, there鈥檚 no evidence Zika virus persists in the female genitals, and no documented or even suspected cases of sexual transmission from a woman to another person,鈥� Niklas Danielsson, a communicable diseases specialist at ECDC, told New 杏吧原创.
The biggest risk posed by Zika is to fetuses carried by women infected with the virus. Zika is thought to cause a condition called microcephaly in which a baby is born with a small head and brain that can leave it disabled.
This threat prompted the World Health Organization last month to declare Zika a global emergency.
Brazilian scientists recently discovered live samples of the virus in saliva and urine, and are now investigating whether kissing could be a 鈥� somewhat unlikely 鈥� source of contagion.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淶ika poses sex risk鈥�
