The Danish health authority Sundhedsstyrelsen has stepped up its guidelines regarding the mosquito-borne Zika virus epidemic that has swept parts of the world recently, particularly in South and Central America.
One of the new recommendations is for men who have recently arrived from areas where there is a Zika outbreak to wear condoms for 28 days during sex if their partner is already pregnant or could become pregnant.
Sundhedsstyrelsen stressed that this precaution should be taken whether the man shows symptoms or not as 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms and the authority still knows very little about the sexual transition of the virus.
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Latest ECDC recommendations
Moreover, Sundhedsstyrelsen has toughened its recommendations on the use of condoms by men who have been infected with the Zika virus and have a pregnant partner. Instead of using a condom during sex for two months, the men should now use a condom for six months after recovering from the infection.
The new recommendations follow those given by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) (here in English).
Sundhedsstyrelsen also contends that all pregnant women returning from Zika-infested areas should be offered a blood test by their doctors.
The outbreak of the virus has been linked to a massive increase in microcephaly cases in which babies are born with under-developed heads.
