Zika Transmitted Via Sperm for 6 Months!!!
Wanted to post this as a heads up for anyone trying to conceive a child that lives in South Florida (Miami-Dade county) or will be travelling there for vacation.
I think almost everyone knows that Zika is a virus transmitted through mosquito bites, and that it causes SEVERE birth defects to children whose mothers are infected while pregnant. What everyone needs to know additionally is that it can be transmitted via semen as well. Worse, the virus can remain active for six months in a man's semen.
So here's the worst case scenario that I came up with- that could actually happen: As a man, you travel to South Florida, get infected by a mosquito bite and contract Zika. You are asymptomatic, and conceive a child not even knowing you have/ had Zika. The child is born with or dies from birth defects and there's nothing you can do.
I post this not to scare anybody but to capture the seriousness of avoiding mosquito bites in South Florida. Six months is a LONG time for the virus to remain able to transmit via semen.
The good news is that there have been only* 1,147 cases of childbirth with Zika infected parents, most infections were transmitted via mosquito, and most children do not display symptoms.
Anyway, this post got SUPER long. Please check the CDC website CDC.gov for updated info. And please wear insect repellant in Florida!
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