AN academic has warned about the dangers of spreading the Zika virus by having sex amid calls for greater transparency over the risks posed by the outbreak in Scotland.
Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, said experts in Brazil have reacted to the risk of sexual transmission of the virus linked to birth defects in babies in a move likened to the response to HIV and Aids.
READ MORE: Scots patients diagnosed with Zika virus which is being blamed for defects in newborns
The principal route of infection is thought to be via the South American Aedes aegypti mosquito and the risk of sexual transmission is described as low.
The disease has spread rapidly in Brazil in the run-up to the Rio Olympics, which open today, where millions of condoms have been given out to the population and public health workers have tried to fumigate infected districts.
Fewer than five people in Scotland have tested positive for the disease - which has symptoms including itching, fever and muscle pain - out of 53 across the UK.
READ MORE: Scots patients diagnosed with Zika virus which is being blamed for defects in newborns
The Scottish Government said Health Protection Scotland guidance is that there is a low risk of sexual transmission, but there is no risk through general person to person contact or airborne infection.
Pregnant women have been advised to avoid regions hit by the virus.
Prof Sridhar said: "The important thing for the public to know is that the main routes that Zika is spread are through mosquitos and sex.
"We don’t have the mosquito that carries the virus here which is why we’re likely to just see a handful of imported cases from overseas."
READ MORE: Scots patients diagnosed with Zika virus which is being blamed for defects in newborns
She continued: "Zika is a sexually transmitted disease, therefore, it is essential that those who have travelled to Zika-affected areas use protection.
"Comparisons are increasingly being made to HIV/Aids, for example the Brazilian government distributed nine million free condoms in Rio for the upcoming Summer Olympics."
Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, said: "It’s clear that many people are apprehensive about the Zika virus and the dangers that it could pose.
READ MORE: Scots patients diagnosed with Zika virus which is being blamed for defects in newborns
“While I am in no doubt that the situation is under control, the Scottish Government could help to reassure the public further by being as open as possible about the situation and the steps they are taking to handle it.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "We continue to closely monitor developments in our understanding of the Zika virus as treatments and testing regimes develop.”
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