Dr. Denise Werker, Saskatchewan’s deputy chief medical health officer, says the case has yet to be confirmed, but she felt it was important to warn people to take the proper precautions, reports the Star.
Dr. Werker suggested that men use a condom when having sex because the Zika virus can live much longer in semen than in blood. She added that it is advisable to use protection for at least six months after returning from a Zika-affected country.
“We want to make sure persons who are travelling know about the precautions they should take when travelling but also when they return and there has in fact been revised guidance for people when they return because of increasing knowledge that we have about Zika virus,” she said, according to CTV News Canada.
Zika, carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito has been potentially linked to thousands of cases of the birth defect, microcephaly in Brazil, along with the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre that can cause paralysis, according to the Daily Mail.
On Thursday, Health Canada, in an update reported there were 33 travel-related cases of Zika virus in the country. The agency points out neither of the mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus is found in Canada due to the climate, making for a very low probability of transmission. To date, there have been no reported cases of locally acquired Zika virus in Canada.
The Zika virus is expected to continue to spread across the Americas and the South Pacific. Health Canada, the CDC and the World Health organization are warning that women who plan on getting pregnant or who may be pregnant should avoid travel to countries where Zika is prevalent.
