Zika Virus in NYC: CDC Records First Female-to-Male Transmission

The CDC says it has recorded the first female-to-male sexual transmission of the Zika virus in New York City. All prior transmissions had occurred from males to their sexual partners.

The CDC is recommending that all people who have traveled to an area where Zika virus is prevalent use protection every time they have sex.

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This is the 15th case of Zika being sexually transmitted in the United States.

NYC Health reports there have been 309 cases of Zika virus in New York City as of July 15, but all of those have been acquired through travel. The vast majority of cases (190) have come from people traveling to the Dominican Republic. The CDC actually records the number as 339 cases.

NYC Health says of the 309 cases it has documented, three have come from sexual transmission, including the female-to-male transmission case. Thirty-six of those cases have come in pregnant women.

In either case, there has yet to be a mosquito-borne instance of the Zika virus in New York City. The yellow fever mosquito, which is the main transmitter of the disease in tropical regions, has not been found in New York. The city, under an abundance of caution, sprayed pesticide extensively in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island as recently as July 7 to 9.

The disease often has no symptoms in healthy adults. Some show minor joint pain or fever. But it can cause birth defects, including microcephaly, in pregnant women. Microcephaly causes a baby's head to stop growing in the womb, resulting in health complications for both the baby and mother.

The NYC Department of Health has announced it will hold a press conference Friday afternoon to further discuss the Zika virus in the city.

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