Zika Warning: UK Men Told To Use Condoms

Men in the UK are being urged to wear condoms for a month after returning from any of the 23 countries affected by the Zika virus.

Public Health England (PHE) said the risk of transmission of the virus through sex was very low but condoms should be used as a precaution.

It said: "Sexual transmission of Zika virus has been recorded in a limited number of cases, and the risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus is thought to be very low.

"However, if a female partner is at risk of getting pregnant, or is already pregnant, condom use is advised for a male traveller."

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The PHE guidance said men should wear condoms for 28 days after "return from a Zika transmission area" if they experience no symptoms of unexplained fever and rash.

But condoms should be used for six months "following recovery, if a clinical illness compatible with Zika virus infection or laboratory confirmed Zika virus infection" has been reported.

PHE added: "This is a precaution and may be revised as more information becomes available."

The body also stressed that the type of mosquito thought to be carrying the virus - Aedes aegypti - was not found in the UK and was unlikely to establish itself because of the UK's low temperatures.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Zika is "spreading explosively" throughout the Americas and "the level of alarm is extremely high".

It predicts three to four million people will be infected with Zika in the Americas this year, and the virus has already been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil.

In a briefing to the WHO's executive board, WHO director-general Margaret Chan said the organisation was "deeply concerned".

She said: "Arrival of the virus in some places has been associated with a steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (a condition of the nervous system).

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"A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established, but is strongly suspected.

"The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions."

The WHO has established an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee and will meet on Monday to decide whether Zika constitutes a global emergency.

The last time a global emergency was declared was for the Ebola virus.

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In the UK, PHE and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) issued updated advice for pregnant women on Wednesday.

Dr Dipti Patel, director at NaTHNaC, said: "We strongly advise all travellers to avoid mosquito bites and urge pregnant women to consider avoiding travel to areas reporting active Zika transmission.

"If travel to these areas is unavoidable, or they live in areas where Zika virus transmission is occurring, they should take scrupulous insect bite avoidance measures both during daytime and night-time hours."

Since the start of the outbreak, five UK travellers have been diagnosed with Zika.

Symptoms may include fever, joint pain, itching, rash, conjunctivitis or red eyes, headache, muscle pain and eye pain.