Zika virus is usually transferred through mosquito bites. Photo via Flickr user AFPMB

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The first sexually transmitted case of Zika virus has been confirmed in Canada.

The virus is carried in Aedes mosquitoes (which don’t exist in Canada) and is normally passed on through bites. But according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, someone in Ontario recently caught it by having sex with a partner who visited an infected country.

While the symptoms of the Zika virus are generally mild in adults, it has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, which causes babies to have smaller than normal heads, and potentially suffer from developmental and cognitive delays. Because of this, the World Health Organization declared the virus a global emergency a couple months ago and pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant are being advised not to travel to affected areas.

Dozens of Canadians have contracted the virus while abroad, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The agency said Zika can survive in sperm, so men returning to Canada from high risk areas should use condoms for six months to prevent spreading it. Men whose partners are pregnant are advised to use condoms for the length of the pregnancy.

Women who’ve recently returned to Canada from a Zika-impacted region are advised to wait at least two months before trying to conceive a baby, while couples trying to get pregnant are advised to delay their plans by at least six months if the man becomes infected.

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