When tested 28 days later, the tears of infected mice contained genetic material from the virus, but not infectious virus.
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“Our study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for Zika virus”, said Michael Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine and one of the study’s senior authors.
The zika virus can live in the eyes with tears, spreading the mosquito-borne disease further, new research suggests.
About a third of all babies infected in utero with Zika show eye disease such as inflammation of the optic nerve, retinal damage or blindness after birth.
In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.
The Philippines confirmed on Monday its first case of Zika this year and said it was “highly likely” it had been locally transmitted.
The good news is that top scientists think even if human tears do not turn out to be infectious, their detection of live virus in the eye and viral RNA in tears will have practical benefits.
The presence of Zika RNA so long after the virus is cleared is also concerning because it could mean that corneal tissue, a common tissue for transplant procedures, could harbor the virus.
For the study, researchers gathered several hundred mosquitoes in four areas of Rio and fed them Zika-infected blood.
“WHO recommends practising safer sex or abstinence for a period of six months for men and women who are returning from areas of active transmission.to prevent Zika virus infection through sexual transmission”, the agency said.
Professor Dr Rajendra Apte, the study’s other senior author, explained: “The advantage to using the eye is that your dosing requirements are very small, and you don’t have to worry as much about effects of larger dosages of therapeutic agents on the rest of the body such as liver toxicity”.
Aside from those found in semen, the World Health Organization said recent evidences also indicate that the virus may also be transmitted through other body fluids, such as the female’s vaginal fluids and cervical mucus. Only two showed an early infection 14 days later, and the virus was not detected on their heads or in their saliva.
Territories and more than 60 nations have continuing Zika transmission from mosquitoes that are local.
In conducting the study, researchers infected mice under the skin, similar to the way a human would be infected by a mosquito.
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This Q & A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
