Update: Interim Guidance for Health Care Providers Caring for Women of Reproductive Age with Possible Zika Virus Exposure — United States, 2016

Update: Ongoing Zika Virus Transmission — Puerto Rico, November 1, 2015–April 14, 2016

“…† † † To reduce the risk for sexual transmission, especially to pregnant women, precautions should include consistent and proper use of condoms or abstinence (5). Such measures can also help avoid unintended pregnancies and minimize risk for fetal Zika virus infection (6). Clinicians who suspect Zika virus disease in patients who reside in or have recently returned from areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission should report cases to public health officials.…”

“…Tissue and blood specimens collected during autopsy from patients who died after an acute febrile illness are tested for Zika virus infection through the Enhanced Fatal Acute Febrile Illness Surveillance System. ** Following CDC interim guidance (6), symptomatic pregnant women are tested using the diagnostic algorithm, and asymptomatic pregnant women are tested for evidence of Zika and dengue virus infection by IgM ELISA. Initiated in February 2016, the Guillain-Barré syndrome Passive Surveillance System allows health providers from across the island to report clinically suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome cases by sending a case report form and serum specimen to PRDH.…”

Likely Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus from a Man with No Symptoms of Infection — Maryland, 2016

“…(4,5). Current recommendations for the prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus in returning travelers differ depending on whether the returning traveler is symptomatic and on whether the couple is planning to become pregnant (3,6). Couples in areas without active Zika transmission with circumstances in which one partner traveled to an area with active Zika virus transmission but did not develop symptoms of Zika virus disease should wait at least 8 weeks after the partner who traveled returned from the Zika-affected area before attempting conception, regardless of the sex of the traveler.…”

“…Men with a diagnosis of Zika virus infection should wait at least 6 months before attempting conception, and women with a diagnosis of Zika virus infection should wait at least 8 weeks before attempting conception. Health care providers should counsel couples that correct and consistent use of condoms reduces the risk for sexually transmitted diseases and discuss the use of the most effective contraceptive methods that can be used correctly and consistently (6). Couples who do not desire pregnancy should consider abstaining from sex or using the most effective contraceptive methods that can be used correctly and consistently in addition to barrier methods, such as condoms, which reduce the risk for sexual transmission of Zika virus and other sexually transmitted infections (3).…”

Zika Virus —10 Public Health Achievements in 2016 and Future Priorities

“…CDC's first Zika-related clinical guidance outlining evaluation, testing, and clinical management of Zika virus in pregnant women was released on January 19, 2016 (6), and on January 26, 2016, guidance for the evaluation and testing of infants with possible congenital Zika virus infection was released (7). As new evidence emerged, CDC updated pregnancy and infant guidance and developed guidance for reproductive-aged women (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). These evidence-based recommendations have been disseminated to health care providers through partnerships with professional organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and have provided clear guidance for providers monitoring and caring for pregnant women and fetuses and infants affected by Zika virus infection.…”