Men with Zika exposure to abstain from conceiving longer

(HealthDay)—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new recommendations on how long men with either Zika infection or exposure should abstain from trying to conceive. The recommendations have been published in the Sept. 30 early-release issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

According to the new report, men with either Zika infection or exposure should abstain from trying to conceive, lengthening the waiting period from eight weeks to six months.

CDC officials did offer some good news: Children and teens who are infected with Zika typically experience only mild illness, as most adults do. This report was also published in the Sept. 30 early-release issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"Health care providers should consider a diagnosis of Zika virus disease in children who have an epidemiologic risk factor and clinically compatible illness and should counsel sexually active adolescents regarding the risk for congenital Zika virus infection and prevention of unintended pregnancies," write the authors of the second report. "Although Zika virus disease in children is typically mild, health care providers should be aware of the possibility of serious complications, such as neurologic manifestations, and should report all cases of Zika virus disease to their state or local health department."