Washington state has its first reported zika, like Sydney reported yesterday. But health officials say not to worry…
The good news is that “this virus spreads through the bite of a type of mosquito we don’t have in Washington State, so it is very unlikely that this virus would spread widely here,” Washington State epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist said in a statement. The DOH recommends that if you’re traveling to a place with the type of mosquito that transmits Zika—the Aedes mosquito—you talk to your doctor.
Um… the Zika virus isn’t just spread by mosquitos. Take it away, CDC:
What we know
• Zika virus can be spread by a man to his sex partners.
• In known cases of likely sexual transmission, the men had Zika symptoms.
• In one case, the virus was spread a few days before symptoms developed.
• The virus is present in semen longer than in blood.What we do not know
• We do not know how long the virus is present in semen in men who have had Zika.
• We do not know if infected men who never develop symptoms can have Zika virus in their semen.
• We do not know if infected men who never develop symptoms can transmit Zika virus through sex.
• We do not know if a woman can transmit Zika virus to her sex partners.
The mosquitos that spreads the Zika virus may not be present in Washington state. But dick can spread the Zika virus too and we’ve got plenty of those around here.