The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced today that a New Castle County man has tested positive for the Zika virus bringing the total number of cases in Delaware to eight. All of the Zika positive test results are due to a mosquito bite while traveling abroad and none involve a pregnancy. The man was tested within the last two weeks following recent travel.
Image/CDC
Zika is spread primarily through mosquito bite, but also can be sexually transmitted from male to female or passed from mother to fetus during pregnancy. DPH continues to recommend condom use for men who have been diagnosed with Zika virus or have symptoms for at least six months after symptoms first appeared.
A total of 127 individuals have been, or are in the process of being, tested in Delaware. At this time, there are 110 negative results, eight positive results, seven test results pending and two indeterminate results in pregnant females. Indeterminate means that it is not possible to definitively confirm the existence of the Zika virus in the human body. Both individuals with indeterminate results were traveling or living abroad this past winter. To protect patient privacy, DPH will not announce any other information on the status of the pregnancies. Consistent with other states, DPH will announce any Zika-related microcephaly cases after a birth should it occur.
According to the CDC, there are 1,133 confirmed cases of Zika virus in the Unites States and District of Columbia. As of July 6, the CDC reports there is still no confirmed transmission of Zika by local mosquito bite in the continental U.S.
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