The American Academy of Family Physicians recently reported that a new Zika virus case found in Utah could show researchers that the virus can be transmitted through more than just bites from infected mosquitoes.
This report shows the first U.S. death connected to Zika. The case demonstrates that the virus may be transmitting from person to person through perspiration or tears, which seems to have happened between a sick hospitalized man and his son.
At 73 years old, the man showed a viral load over 100,000 times more than usually seen in Zika virus patients. The infection was believed to have started while he was visiting a specific region in Mexico.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the virus may also be sexually transmitted. As such, the organization has changed its interim guidance as well as its interim response plan to account for this factor.
"This rare case is helping us to understand the full spectrum of the disease and the precautions we may need to take in order to avoid passing the virus from one person to another in specific situations," Dr. Sankar Swaminathan, lead author and chief of infectious disease at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said.
