Zika virus in the female genital tract

Abstract

Zika virus in the female genital tractA first description of a womanto-man sexual transmission of the Zika virus was reported in July, 2016, 1 concomitantly with the first description of Zika virus RNA detection in the female genital tract. 2 We report additional evidence for this potential route of transmission with this second case of Zika virus RNA detection in the female genital tract.After 11 days in the West Indies in Guadeloupe, an epidemic area since April, 2016, the patient came back to Paris, France in mid-July, 2016. At her arrival, the patient had fever, headache, and retro-orbital pain. At day 2, a morbiliform itching rash with dysesthesia appeared on their trunk, arms, and thighs. At the Louis Mourier Teaching Hospital (Colombes, France) on day 4, the blood cell count, transaminases, and C-reactive protein concentrations were normal. Serological testing was negative for Zika virus (Euroimmun,

Impact of human-human contagions in the spread of vector-borne diseases

“…The great concern raised by the rapid spread of ZIKV pathologies has spurred the scientific research about the particular features that characterize this disease. As an example, A. Allard et al [32,33] have shown, by using bond percolation, that the well-known contagion asymmetry between males and females [34,35] leads to the apparition of a double epidemic threshold: one associated to the onset of epidemics inside the men-who-have-sexwith-men (MSM) community and another one associated to its global outbreak. Interestingly, this high asymmetry also allows the disease to be self-sustained, even in the case that the vector-human reproductive ratio is small.…”

Maternal-fetal transmission of the zika virus: An intriguing interplay

“…[39][40][41][42] The isolation of ZIKV from seminal plasma and spermatozoa from a volunteer with acute ZIKV infection by Joguet et al 42 reinforces the possibility of sexual transmission. ZIKV RNA has also been detected in the female reproductive tract, [43][44][45][46] but its implication in sexual transmission remains unknown as there is only one case of female-to-male transmission in the literature. 47 ZIKV transmitted through sexual contact might be one of the ways by which the virus would reach the fetus via the ascending route.…”

What do we know about Zika virus?

“…Ova vrsta živi u bliskom kontaktu s ljudima i u urbanim sredinama, što je čini idealnim prenositeljem infekcija. matske faze bolesti 15 , kao i 14 dana od početka bolesti, kada se više nije detektirao u krvi ili urinu 16 . ZIKV je detektiran i u slini i 3 mjeseca od početka bolesti, a zbog velikog izlaganja slini tijekom spolnog odnosa ona može biti alternativni izvor virusa kod spolnog prijenosa 17,18 .…”