Prolonged Zika Virus RNA Detection in Semen of Immunosuppressed Patient

Petridou, Christina; Bonsall, David; Ahmed, Aleem; Roberts, Mark; Bell, Carolyn; Cesare, Mariateresa de; Bowden, Rory; Graham, Victoria; Bailey, Daniel; Simpson, Andrew J. H.; Aarons, Emma

doi:10.3201/eid2508.181543

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Seventy-eight ZIKV RNA-positive semen samples from 46 patients were tested by virus isolation in cell culture, with virus recovered from 3 of 19 (15.8%) samples collected within 30 days of illness onset, but none from the 59 samples collected at later times. In another study, ZIKV RNA was detected in the semen of an immunocompromised patient at 941 days after illness onset [62]. Additionally, ZIKV RNA has been detected in the anorectal mucosa of naturally infected male and female patients [85].…”

Section: Zika Virus: Sexual Transmission Between Humansmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The virus has since been isolated from the semen of many other patients, persisting up to 69 days after illness onset [61]. Multiple studies have reported prolonged shedding of ZIKV RNA in the semen of patients, and this has been documented for both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections [62][63][64][80][81][82][83][84]. For example, ZIKV RNA was detected in the semen of 48 of 112 (43%) patients at 31-60 days after illness onset, persisting for 281 days in one patient [63].…”

Section: Zika Virus: Sexual Transmission Between Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual Transmission of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review

Blitvich

Magalhães

Laredo-Tiscareño

et al. 2020

Viruses

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Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are primarily maintained in nature in transmission cycles between hematophagous arthropods and vertebrate hosts, but an increasing number of arboviruses have been isolated from or indirectly detected in the urogenital tract and sexual secretions of their vertebrate hosts, indicating that further investigation on the possibility of sexual transmission of these viruses is warranted. The most widely recognized sexually-transmitted arbovirus is Zika virus but other arboviruses, including Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and dengue virus, might also be transmitted, albeit occasionally, by this route. This review summarizes our current understanding on the ability of arboviruses to be sexually transmitted. We discuss the sexual transmission of arboviruses between humans and between vertebrate animals, but not arthropod vectors. Every taxonomic group known to contain arboviruses (Asfarviridae, Bunyavirales, Flaviviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Reoviridae, Rhabdoviridae and Togaviridae) is covered.

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Section: Zika Virus: Sexual Transmission Between Humansmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Zika Virus: Sexual Transmission Between Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Transmission of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review

Blitvich

Magalhães

Laredo-Tiscareño

et al. 2020

Viruses

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“…Em um paciente com imunossupressão, detectou-se a presença de RNA do Zika vírus no sêmen por mais de 900 dias após o início dos sintomas 17 .…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

Transmissão do Zika vírus por via sexual: Uma revisão sistemática / Transmission of Zika virus by sexual means: A systematic review

et al. 2020

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O Zika vírus é um vírus de RNA positivo e de sequência simples, pertencente à família Flaviviridae. Fazem parte desta família outros arbovírus causadores de patologias no homem, bem como o vírus da febre amarela e da dengue. No ano de 2019, a Organização Pan-Americana de Saúde/Organização Mundial de Saúde, publicou contagens de casos de Zika que 52 países e territórios nas Américas relataram diretamente ou publicaram em boletins nacionais. Embora se reconheça que o Aedes aegypti seja o principal vetor, há também outras vias de transmissão sendo observadas, dentre elas: transmissão sexual; soro, saliva e urina; leite materno; e transfusão de sangue. De fato, os estudos exprimem a possibilidade de excreção viral nos fluidos genitais para ambos os sexos, embora no caso da mulher, possa ocorrer até no máximo 13 dias após o início dos sintomas. Relativamente ao homem, existe indicação de persistência viral em longo prazo nas secreções genitais, tendo sido documentada a sua identificação até aos 188 dias após o início dos sintomas. Em 2016, no Reino Unido, a análise de amostras de sêmen de 23 viajantes infectados e sintomáticos com o vírus Zika vírus constatou, apesar de o sêmen ter sido coletado vários meses após o início dos sintomas da infecção, a presença de RNA do Zika vírus, o que sugeriu alto risco de transmissão sexual.

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“…This was confirmed by showing that a combination of Alum with MPL as the adjuvant significantly reduced viral titers and viral RNA copies in sera and tissues compared to other immunization regimes. ZIKV can be transmitted through sexual contact, the virus can persist in female or male (testes and seminal vesicles) reproductive organs for a prolonged period, and viral RNA can be detected in semen for up to one year after ZIKV infection [53,[55][56][57][58][59]. Thus, vaccines that reduce viral load in reproductive organs will likely be more effective in reducing virus transmission during sexual contact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Adjuvants on the Immunogenicity and Efficacy of a Zika Virus Envelope Domain III Subunit Vaccine

et al. 2019

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Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has attracted global attention due to its close association with congenital Zika syndrome and neurological diseases, and transmission through additional routes, such as sexual contact. Currently there are no vaccines approved for ZIKV, and thus, there is an urgent need to develop an effective and safe ZIKV vaccine. Domain III (DIII) of the ZIKV envelope (E) protein is an important vaccine target, and a vaccine developed using a mutant DIII of E (EDIII) protein protects adult and pregnant mice, and unborn offspring, against ZIKV infection. Here, we have used immunocompetent BALB/c mice treated with anti-interferon-α/β receptor 1 (Ifnar1) antibodies to investigate whether three adjuvants (aluminum (Alum), monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), and MF59), either alone or in combination, could improve the efficacy of this EDIII subunit vaccine. Our data show that, although vaccine formulated with a single adjuvant induced a specific antibody and cellular immune response, and reduced viral load in mice challenged with ZIKV, the combination of Alum and MPL adjuvants led to a more robust and balanced immune response, stronger neutralizing activity against three recent ZIKV human strains, and greater protection against a high-dose ZIKV challenge. Particularly, the combination of Alum with MPL significantly reduced viral titers and viral RNA copy numbers in sera and tissues, including the male reproductive organs. Overall, this study has identified the combination of Alum and MPL as the most effective adjuvant for ZIKV EDIII subunit vaccines, and it has important implications for subunit vaccines against other enveloped viruses, including non-ZIKV flaviviruses.Vaccines 2019, 7, 161 2 of 16 with microcephaly, fetal demise, and other congenital disorders [4][5][6]. Thus, ZIKV has emerged as a global health threat and there is an urgent requirement for an effective vaccine to combat ZIKV-associated diseases.The ZIKV genome encodes a single polyprotein, which is processed into three structural proteins (capsid (C), precursor of membrane/membrane (prM/M), and envelope (E)) and seven non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5) [7][8][9]. The E protein has important roles in infection and pathogenesis, is involved in virus binding to target cells and membrane fusion, and also serves as an important vaccine target [7,8]. The E protein is a transmembrane protein and consists of three domains termed I, II, and III (DI-DIII), a fusion loop (FL), and a stalk region (S) [8]. The DI-DII region of ZIKV E protein is a target for cross-reactive antibodies with other flaviviruses, such as dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV), whereas the DIII domain induces ZIKV-specific antibodies [10][11][12], and therefore, is a key target for ZIKV vaccine development. ZIKV vaccine candidates under development include inactivated virus, live attenuated virus, DNA, mRNA, viral vectors, virus-like particles (VLPs), and viral proteins (or subunit vaccines) [13][14][15][16]. Although ma...

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Prolonged Zika Virus RNA Detection in Semen of Immunosuppressed Patient

Abstract: Zika virus RNA has been detected in semen samples collected < 370 days after symptom onset. We report unusual persistence of Zika virus RNA in semen, confirmed by sequencing at 515 days after symptom onset and detectable for >900 days, in a patient with immunosuppression.

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

Sexual Transmission of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review

Sexual Transmission of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review

Transmissão do Zika vírus por via sexual: Uma revisão sistemática / Transmission of Zika virus by sexual means: A systematic review

Effects of Adjuvants on the Immunogenicity and Efficacy of a Zika Virus Envelope Domain III Subunit Vaccine

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