The CDC research reports Zika 14 New transmission through sex

Health authorities in the United States said they were investigating 14 new reports of Zika virus may be transmitted through sexual intercourse, including pregnant women. If confirmed, the unexpectedly high number would have important implications for the control of the virus, which usually is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes.

Scientists had believed sexual transmission Zika be extremely rare. Only a few cases have never been documented. But if all the women in the case of the Centers for Disease Control and Disease Prevention is examining test positive for the virus - as two women who already have, and four others have done in preliminary laboratory tests - officials believe there is no way other than the sex we could have collapsed.

The specter of so many cases - especially in the continental United States - brings fresh complexity to the medical mystery of Zika. The virus is suspected of causing birth defects and a rare condition of temporary paralysis.

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