1st locally acquired Zika case confirmed in Chile

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 13:57 EST, 26 March 2016 | UPDATED: 13:57 EST, 26 March 2016

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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean health officials say they've registered the first locally acquired case of the Zika virus, which was sexually transmitted within the country.

The Health Ministry said in a statement Saturday that a 46-year-old woman got Zika inside Chile having unprotected sex. Her partner recently returned from a visit to Haiti, where he was infected with the virus.

The mosquito Aedes Aegypti that transmits Zika and other viruses including dengue is not present in Chilean continental areas. There previously were 10 confirmed cases of Zika in Chile contracted during travels abroad.

Chile's health authorities recommend protected sex for four weeks for people returning from areas where Zika exists.

Aedes Aegypti has been detected in the Easter Island territory, in the Pacific Ocean more than 2,100 miles (3,500 kilometers) from Chile's mainland.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3510723/1st-locally-acquired-Zika-case-confirmed-Chile.html#ixzz4439IzGHN 
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Chile reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika

The Health Ministry says a 46-year-old woman contracted the virus from a man who had become infected in Haiti

 

Agence France-Presse

@afp

Published 1:19 AM, March 27, 2016

Updated 1:20 AM, March 27, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SANTIAGO, Chile – Authorities on Saturday, March 26, reported the first sexually transmitted case of Zika in mainland Chile, where there is no known presence of the mosquito generally blamed for passing on the virus suspected of causing birth defects.

The Health Ministry said a 46-year-old woman contracted the virus from a man who had become infected in Haiti.

"This is the first documented case of Zika virus through sexual transmission in mainland Chile, where there is no presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the disease," the ministry said in a statement.

"To date, we have confirmed 10 cases of Zika contracted abroad and reported in the country, including 8 in 2016."

In early March, Chile reported the first imported case of Zika in a pregnant woman whose son was born healthy.

While not present in mainland Chile, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has been detected on remote Easter Island in the Pacific.

Zika, which has been spreading through Latin America, has been linked to microcephaly in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant.

Microcephaly is a serious birth defect that leaves babies with small heads and incomplete brain development.

The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency over the apparent link. – Rappler.com

http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/latin-america/127176-chile-reports-first-case-sexually-transmitted-zika?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=referral