Zika Virus Latest News And Updates: Zika Virus Can Survive In The Eyes, Genetic Material Found In Tears

Everyone is aware that Zika mosquitoes are the most common carriers of the virus. it has also been revealed that it is possible to contract the virus as a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) from both male and female sexual partners. And now, latest findings show that the virus might be able to live in your tears.

According to Shape, researchers of a new study published in Cell Reports, found that the virus can live in the eye and Zika's genetic material can be discovered in tears. For the study, researchers infected adult mice with the Zika virus via the skin, which is similar to how humans would be infected through a mosquito bite, and discovered that the virus was active in the eyes seven days later.

"The Zika epidemic has been very explosive, more explosive than we can account for by just mosquitoes and the level of Zika virus in human blood. Some other factor may be at play," says Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, one of the study's senior authors. "Sexual transmission is probably not playing a major role, but it could be some other bodily fluid - saliva, or urine or tears."

Though the researchers don't exactly know how the virus can travel from the blood to the eyes, the new findings suggest why some infected adults suffer from conjunctivitis (redness and itchiness of the eye) and in some cases, an eye infection called uveitis, an eye infection which can lead to loss of vision. About a month after the initial infection, the researchers still found Zika's genetic materials in the tears of the infected mice. Although the virus wasn't infectious, the same cannot be said on how it might affect humans.

Researchers believe that the study could shed light on why some infected people develop these eye diseases. 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.

"Our study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for Zika virus," says Diamond. "We need to consider whether people with Zika have infectious virus in their eyes and how long it actually persists."

As far as conducting experiments as concerned, researchers of the study want to do more experiments to confirm if the Zika virus can survive in the compartments of the eye. If the virus lingers in the eye, this could have serious effects on corneal transplants since the virus can spread from the donor to the recipient during the procedure. Live Science wrote that the researchers also said doctors may need to test corneal tissue used for transplant to detect the Zika virus before the transplantation.