The first sexually transmitted case of Zika virus has been confirmed in Georgia, the Georgia Department of Health (DPH) announced. A woman was infected by a partner who had traveled to Brazil earlier this year.

The Zika virus can be spread by mosquito bites or sexual contact. It has caused birth defects in some infants whose mothers contracted Zika.

According to the DPH, the virus can be transmitted from a man infected with Zika to a male or female sex partner before, during and after symptoms appear.

Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Health, said that, “If your partner has traveled to an area where Zika virus transmission is ongoing, protecting yourself by abstaining from sex or using condoms during sex is the best way to prevent sexual
transmission of the Zika virus.”

“Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infection.”

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Nandini