Brazil detects active virus Zika in saliva and urine - Not clear if that may infect others

[Gert van der Hoek]

02/05/2016

PRESS RELEASE MINISTRY OF HEALTH


Fiocruz detects active virus Zika in saliva

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), an agency of the Ministry of Health, announced on Friday the discovery of the presence of active Zika virus (with the potential to cause infection) in saliva and urine samples of patients.

For the study, samples were analyzed regarding two patients and the samples taken during the presentation of symptoms consistent with the Zika virus. The presence of the genetic material of the virus was confirmed by RT-PCR in Real Time. It was also performed the partial sequencing of the virus genome.

The evidence, however, is not sufficient to say that the presence of virus in saliva may infect others. other studies are necessary to analyze, for example, which the virus survival time Zika and, after passing through the digestive juices, it has the ability to infect people.

The recommendation at this time is the caution and prevention with known guidelines for other diseases, such as avoiding sharing personal items (toothbrushes and cups, for example) and wash your hands. The greatest care must be taken by pregnant women, who already must guard against the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

 

[Pathfinder]

FEBRUARY 5, 2016 10:57 AM

In Brazil, pregnant women urged to be cautious with a kiss
...
In Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Gadelha, president of the Fiocruz research institute, told a news conference that scientists have found live samples of the virus in saliva and urine samples, and the possibility it could be spread by the two body fluids requires further study.

He said that calls for special precaution to be taken with pregnant women, and suggested they avoid kissing people other than a regular partner or sharing cutlery, glasses and plates with people who have symptoms of the virus.

"This is not a generalized public health measure, for the love of God," he added, stressing both the seriousness of the discovery and reality that it was too soon to say how it could impact the epidemic.

Friday's announcement coincided with the start of Carnival, a five-day-long bacchanalia that sees millions of people take part in non-stop, alcohol-fueled parties where kissing as many people as possible is a top pastime.

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http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/business/health-care/article58605183.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Officials Warn Of Potential Zika Transmission Via Urine, Saliva

Updated February 5, 2016

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, talks with Mary Louise Kelly about how the Zika virus may spread.

(...............................)

KELLY: What should we make of these findings?

FAUCI: Well, I think we better be careful that we don't jump to any conclusions about transmissibility. First of all, the finding of Zika virus in saliva actually is not a new finding. It was reported in the medical literature in July of 2015. And virus in the urine was reported over a year ago in an infectious disease journal. So that's the first thing. The second thing is that we have to be careful that when you find a virus or fingerprints of a virus in a body secretion, absolutely does not necessarily mean that it is transmitted that way. You don't want to take it lightly. You don't want to just blow it off. You have to follow it and make sure that when you do your natural history study there's no indication of that.

But there are other viruses that we do isolate from products and secretions like urine, like saliva, like tears, in which there's no evidence whatsoever of transmissibility by that modality. And as a matter of fact, up to now there has been no evidence at all that it is transmitted that way. So although we note this, and we make sure we want to follow it, I think it would be a mistake to jump to the conclusion that now we have another way that this virus is being transmitted. We have to be very careful about that.

KELLY: OK, so just to be crystal clear - you're drawing a distinction here between whether the virus can exist in urine and saliva or whether it possibly might be transmitted through those means.

FAUCI: Right. There's obviously a theoretical possibility, but there's no evidence that it's happened or that it will happen.

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