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The first case of female-to-male sexual transmission of the Zika virus has been documented in New York City, raising the prospect that the disease could spread more widely beyond the countries where it is already endemic and largely transmitted by mosquitoes. For months, there has been growing concern about the dangers of sexual transmission, but until now the virus has been thought to pass only from men to women or between two men. (Santora, 7/15)

A week after the couple had sex, the man developed fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. He went to the same doctor who had diagnosed Zika infection in the woman. The doctor suspected sexual transmission of the virus and alerted the health department. The man, who also is in his 20s, had not traveled outside the country during the year before his illness, did not have other recent sexual partners and had not been bitten by a mosquito in the week before he got sick. Blood and urine samples were collected from the man, who tested positive for the virus in his urine. (Sun, 715)

Based on this case, the CDC is revising its recommendations for how people can protect themselves from getting infected with the Zika virus through sexual contact. Currently the CDC recommends that pregnant women whose male sexual partner has traveled or lived in a place where Zika is spreading use a barrier method of contraception, such as a condom, or refrain from sex during the pregnancy. The CDC now recommends that pregnant women whose sexual partners are female take the same precautions. (Stein, 7/15)

On his flight from Mexico back to the Vatican in February, Pope Francis made an unexpected comment about the Zika virus, saying that the outbreak — blamed for serious birth defects around the world — may justify the use of contraceptives. ... “It is a crime,” the pope responded. “It is to throw someone out in order to save another. That’s what the Mafia does.” “On the other hand,” he continued, “avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil,” and, in extreme situations, the use of contraceptives could be justified, despite the church’s ban. (Weinberg, 7/16)

It only takes 15 minutes to drive from Houston's glittering medical center — home to the soaring pink granite walls of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center — to the Fifth Ward. But the voyage takes you straight from the First World into the Zika zone. (Fox, 7/15)

This summer’s drought has been tough on most Massachusetts mosquitoes, who have seen their numbers tamped down by the hot, dry weather. But one species thrives in these conditions — and that’s the species that carries West Nile virus. ... As a whole, entomologists say they’re seeing fewer mosquitoes than normal this year, partially because of moderate to severe drought conditions across much of the state. Mosquitoes need hot, humid conditions to proliferate, and the lack of rainfall hasn’t provided that. Many of the state’s 51 species of mosquitoes, including those that transmit Eastern equine encephalitis, have diminished ranks, although the state confirmed its first detection of EEE in a mosquito sample Friday. (Wang, 7/16)