“Researchers do not yet know if the “old” lineage of Zika also causes complications such as microcephaly and neurological disorders”, the spokeswoman said. “We need to consider whether people with Zika have infectious virus in their eyes and how long it actually persists”.
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A team of medical experts from the DOH-Central Office and Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) arrived in Iloilo City on Tuesday, September 6, to further assist the regional and LGU teams in the conduct of an in-depth epidemiological investigation that would determine the source of the vector and the scope and magnitude of affected population.
If Zika is harbored in the eyes and spread through tears, she said it wouldn’t greatly change the department’s approach.
“We’re not anxious about it”, she said. “As with other illnesses or diseases, we’ve talked about sharing bodily fluids”.
Isabel Belliard, marketing manager for Florence Crittenton Services, said other than asking students who visit the school-based health clinic if they’ve traveled recently, there’s little concern. Administrators at both schools said they’re aware of the issue, but aren’t embarking on any prevention campaigns at this point. Some patients who are suffering from Zika also contracted diseases of the eye such as conjunctivitis and uveitis.
About a third of babies who acquire the infection in the utero present eye disease in the form of optic nerve inflammation, damage to the retina or blindness.
While the virus itself was not found in the tears, the researchers did find Zika’s genetic material in the sample 28 days after the mice were infected.
“Even though we didn’t find live virus in mouse tears, that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be infectious in humans”, said study lead author Dr. Jonathan Miner, an instructor in medicine. “There could be a window of time when tears are highly infectious and people are coming in contact with it and able to spread it”. Human tears potentially could be tested for viral RNA or antibodies – as a less painful way to diagnose Zika infection than drawing blood.
Still, there are 34 confirmed cases of Zika virus in IN that have all been travel related.
With more evidence pointing to sexual contact as a means of transmitting the virus, the World Health Organization said it was important that condoms and other contraceptive methods be offered to the public.
Researchers are considering alternative routes of transmission, as the virus is spreading more quickly than expected.
“By those calculations, Zika is moving unusually fast”.
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“Our study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for Zika virus”, said Dr. Michael Diamond, one of the study’s senior authors.
