 "CDC widens Zika virus guidelines for pregnant women")
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday revised its guidelines for pregnant women to include a recommendation that even those without symptoms of the Zika virus should be tested after returning from affected areas.
The updated guidelines recommend pregnant women be offered testing two to 12 weeks after returning from places where the virus has infected people. Earlier, the agency suggested tests for those already experiencing symptoms. Obstetricians have said that since 80 per cent of those infected by the virus show no symptoms, it leaves many pregnant women no way of knowing early enough to make an informed choice about their unborn child.
Although sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible, mosquito bites remain the primary way it is transmitted, the CDC said. It recommended that pregnant women and their male partners should discuss any potential exposure by the male to Zika, or a history of Zika-like illness, with their doctor.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which has caused outbreaks in at least 26 countries in the Americas. Brazil is investigating more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can cause permanent brain damage in newborns, that may be linked to Zika.
The updated guidelines recommend pregnant women be offered testing two to 12 weeks after returning from places where the virus has infected people. Earlier, the agency suggested tests for those already experiencing symptoms. Obstetricians have said that since 80 per cent of those infected by the virus show no symptoms, it leaves many pregnant women no way of knowing early enough to make an informed choice about their unborn child.
Although sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible, mosquito bites remain the primary way it is transmitted, the CDC said. It recommended that pregnant women and their male partners should discuss any potential exposure by the male to Zika, or a history of Zika-like illness, with their doctor.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which has caused outbreaks in at least 26 countries in the Americas. Brazil is investigating more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can cause permanent brain damage in newborns, that may be linked to Zika.