CDC investigates 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of Zika

©2009 Thomas van Ardenne (credit: Thomas van Ardenne)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state health departments, is investigating 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of Zika in the US, the agency announced Tuesday.

All of the cases involve the possible transmission of the virus to a female who hadn’t traveled from a male sexual partner who had recently traveled to an area where Zika was spreading through mosquitoes. While sexual transmission of the virus has been previously reported, the number of newly suspected cases suggests that sexual transmission may be more common than health experts previously expected.

“We were surprised that there was this number,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with the New York Times. “If a number of them pan out, that’s much more than I was expecting.”