Earlier this month, Dallas health officials reported the first known case of sexual transmission of Zika in the current epidemic.
United States health officials on Tuesday said they were investigating 14 more new reports of the Zika virus possibly being transmitted by sex, including two pregnant women. If confirmed, the unexpectedly high number would have major implications for controlling the virus, which is usually spread by mosquito bites.
"These new reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of transmission for Zika virus than previously considered," the CDC said in a written statement.
Scientists had believed sexual transmission of Zika to be extremely rare and have documented only a few cases.
"In two of the new suspected sexual transmission events, Zika virus infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual contact with an ill male partner who had recently traveled to an area with local Zika virus transmission; testing for the male partners is still pending.", according to the CDC.
There are eight other suspected cases under investigation. Lab results are pending for four additional suspected cases among women.
Doctors had known Zika could be spread by sexual transmission. In 2008, a U.S. researcher was infected in Africa and infected his wife back in Colorado. Zika has been found in semen.
Zika's spreading fast across the Americas and the Caribbean and the World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. The virus itself is relatively harmless to most people, but what's worrying is the potential that it causes severe birth defects.
The CDC is urging individuals to follow its previously issued guidance of abstinence or condom use for women, especially those who are pregnant, whose male sexual partners have traveled to a Zika-infected area. It also issued a notice through their Health Alert Network that notified health care providers, labs and local, state and federal public health employees about urgent public health information.
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