Two People Contract Zika Through Blood Transfusions in Brazil

Two people in Brazil have become the first to get infected with Zika virus through blood transfusions, The Wall Street Journal reports citing provincial health authorities.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The blood transfusions on a gunshot victim and a patient getting a liver transplant were conducted in early 2015, but the transmission of Zika was only recently confirmed, the newspaper said.

The Zika virus affects primarily monkeys and humans and is transmitted by daytime-active mosquitos. On Tuesday, the CDC said on its website that transmission through blood transfusions and sexual intercourse had also been reported.

Zika does not cause serious complications in adults, but it can lead to severe brain defects in newborns.

The current Zika outbreak started in Brazil in the spring of 2015. It has since spread across Latin America, with cases having been reported in several European countries and the United States.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus outbreak a public health emergency.

At present, there is no vaccine available to treat the Zika virus.

Last week, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff stressed that the fight against Zika should focus on the extermination of mosquito breeding sites.

Health workers in Brazil have been spraying insecticide in Brazil’s major cities this week, trying to destroy mosquitoes that spread Zika.