GENEVA // The World Health Organisation voiced concern on Wednesday over a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the US was reported in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday by health officials who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.
“We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.
“This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission,” he said, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal and was suspected of infecting his wife.
The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly.
“There are many things we don’t know about Zika,” Mr Hartl said. “Lots of surveillance is needed.”
For now the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitos and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Mr Hartl said.
Meanwhile, the French government announced it was sending extra hospital equipment and medical staff to go to two French regions in the Caribbean that face an epidemic of Zika.
Health minister Marisol Touraine said on Wednesday that Martinique and French Guiana have had 2,500 potential cases and about 100 confirmed Zika cases since mid-December, including 20 pregnant women and two people suffering a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
WHO urged European countries on Wednesday to start preparing now to protect their populations against the Zika virus, which has never been transmitted in Europe but could spread with the onset of spring and summer.
“Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations,” WHO’s Europe chief Zsuzsanna Jakab said.
* Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
