Zika Virus Update: Sexual Transmission Possible, Say French Scientists

Zika virus can be transmitted through kissing and oral sex. Based on a new study, the mosquito-borne infection has shown indications of possible sexual transmission that prompted French scientists to conduct a research on the Zika virus in semen.

A female patient with Zika infection was presented by the research team in Paris, who was reported to begin feeling and showing the symptoms on Feb. 20. The patient did not travel to any Zika-affected countries but reported to having sexual contacts in Feb. with a man who was in Brazil from Dec. To Feb., without condoms, ejaculation and oral sex with ejaculation. On the other hand, the male partner developed symptoms of rash, fever, chills and muscle pain on Feb. 7 and on Feb. 10 the symptoms disappeared upon arriving in Paris. The  male patient had normal medical findings upon his physical tests on Feb. 23.

Both Zika-infected patients underwent laboratory evaluations, with the woman submitting urine and saliva samples on Feb. 23 that  turned positive for the virus. However, the vaginal swab returned negative. The male patient's urine test turned positive for the Zika virus, 16 days following the onset of the infection. His saliva and blood samples, however, returned negative, while his semen samples turned positive to the virus.

Based on the findings of the study, Zika virus was transferred through sexual means, which gives support to the initial hypothesis. According to the authors, they cannot exclude the possibility that the transmission happened not through the semen, but by other biologic fluids like saliva exchanged by kissing or pre-ejaculation secretions, according to Medical Xpress.

The existence of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti in Paris are not very evident, and even in the whole country, Aedes species go through a stage of suspended development. However, the recent outbreaks must lead the way for more studies that explore into the nature of Zika.

Zika transmission can be prevented by establishing better recommendations that include the particular times when abstinence or condom use should be practiced by men who have stayed in countries affected by the virus, and through the increased awareness of the oral viral transmission,  Kaiser Family Foundation reported.