WHO strengthens safe sex guidance when returning from Zika zones

A resident volunteer puts up posters in a lift of a public housing estate in a Zika cluster in Singapore (Copyright Reuters 2016)

GENEVA – Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last autumn in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly.

In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.

Sexual transmission of Zika had been reported in 11 countries by Aug. 26, mainly through vaginal intercourse. There was a first documented case of a man catching the virus through anal sex in February 2016 and a suspicion of Zika transmission through oral sex in April.

Although one man had Zika found in his semen 188 days after the onset of symptoms, the longest period that the virus has so far been found to remain infectious was 24 days, and WHO said its latest six-month advice was conservative.

In another Zika sufferer, the concentration of the virus in his semen was 100,000 more than that in his blood 14 days after he was diagnosed.

Evidence on persistence of the virus in semen and its infectiousness and impact on sexual transmission remains limited and the guidance will be updated again when there is more information, WHO said.

WHO advises that pregnant women should not travel to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission, and it warned people traveling to the Paralympic Games, which starts on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, to take precautions against mosquito bites.

"We think that the risk for travelers and athletes is low, but it's not zero," said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.