Heath officials in Saskatchewan have stated that investigation has started on the first possible Zika virus case in Canada, which is being spread through sex, as per a report on March 24, 2016.
The deputy chief medical health officer of Saskatchewan, Dr Denise Werker stated that in this case, a woman contracts the virus after she has sex with a man who has travelled to a country which has a prevalence of Zika.
Werker stated that there is no confirmation on this case yet, but she wanted to release this information for making sure proper precautions are taken by people while travelling during March break.
Many people are travelling to countries wherein Zika virus is circulating, but they wanted to ensure that people who are travelling know about various precautions that have to be taken.
She stated that condoms must be used by men for six months after they travel to an affected country. Zika virus can be transmitted from men to women and the virus remains in the semen of the men for a longer period than it remains in the blood.
She also stated that she didn’t know if a man has received warning about the potential for Zika to spread through sex but she was unaware if his partner was informed about the same.
Most people contracting this virus show no symptoms but some experience red eyes, rash, joint pain and fever. This virus has a potential link to thousands of cases of newborns having heads that are abnormally small.
Zika cases have reached epidemic levels through Central America, majority of South America, much of the Caribbean and some parts of Mexico. The kinds of mosquitoes which transmit this virus haven’t been found in Canada.
Werker stated that sexual transmission cases are quite rare and have been reported in New Zealand, France, Italy, Argentina and United States. If confirmed, this would be the sexual transmission Zika case in Canada.
