There was a first documented case of a man catching the virus through anal sex in February 2016 and a suspicion of Zika transmission through oral sex in April. The researchers now are planning complementary studies in patients infected with the virus.
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“The documentation of the mosquitoes is something that is normal, but in light of the fear of the Zika virus concerns…we just want to make sure that we are documenting where this vector is located”, said Indiana State Department of Health Senior Vector-Borne Epidemiologist Entomology Director Bryan Price.
While the small aedes aegypti mosquito gets most of the blame for outbreaks of Zika, WHO’s latest guidelines are based on a growing pool of research and studies about sexual transmission of the virus. The virus’ genetic material was also identified in tears. He further comments that infected people should be checked for the presence of the virus in their eyes and for how long the infection actually persists. It important to note that about 30 percent of babies infected with Zika virus while inside their mothers’ womb show eye conditions like inflamed optic nerves, retinal damage or blindness after they are born, reported treehugger.com.
“Even though we didn’t find live virus in mouse tears, that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be infectious in humans”, said Dr. Jonathan Miner, an instructor in medicine and the study’s lead author.
But Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly – a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized – as well as other brain abnormalities. They include a fever, headache and possible red eyes. Last month, an unconfirmed number of people were diagnosed with the Zika virus in Scotland. One possibility is that it crosses “the blood-retina barrier that separates the eye from the bloodstream, traveling along the optic nerve that connects the brain and the eye”, researchers said in a statement.
Published Sept. 6 in Cell Reports, the study describes the effect of the Zika virus infection in the eyes of mouse fetuses, newborns, and adults.
The researchers observed that viral RNA taken from inside a mouse eye 7 days after getting the virus could cause symptoms when injected into another rodent. Thus, individuals infected could potentially spread the virus via tears, apart from mosquito bites and sexual contact. Its transmission is believed to be confined to “reproductive fluids” and not other bodily fluids like sweat or saliva. Moreover, the experiment on lab mice could be used in testing anti-Zika drugs.
We know that mosquitos carry Zika, and ditto with blood.
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In addition, the World Health Organization said females, who have had unprotected sex and do not wish to become pregnant due to concerns about Zika virus infection, must have ready access to emergency contraceptive services and counselling.
