Zika May Not Spread In Saliva Or Urine
"I think we need to be careful that don't we jump to any conclusions
about transmissibility," Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an interview.
"When you find a virus or fingerprints of a virus in a body secretion,
it absolutely does not mean that it is transmitted that way," Fauci said.
The virus may be present in a form that is incapable of spreading, or in
such low levels that transmission is impossible or unlikely, several scientists
said. There also could be substances present in saliva that prevent the virus
from spreading.
More research will be needed to determine what role, if any, the presence
of the virus in saliva plays in the spread of the Zika virus, the scientists
said.
"The important thing is now to determine whether the virus in saliva
and urine can transmit the virus to others. We'll just have to wait and
see," said William Schaffner, an infectious disease researcher at
Vanderbilt University.
While other viruses can be found in saliva, such as the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it is not spread that way, Fauci noted.
Mosquitoes clearly remain the main way the Zika virus is transmitted, says
Thomas Frieden, who heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I think it's important to step back and emphasize that Zika is a
mosquito-borne virus and the overwhelming majority of cases are spread by
mosquitoes," Frieden told reporters.
The CDC did, however, issue new guidelines for how pregnant women should
protect themselves from getting infected, following a report out of Dallas this
week that Zika had been spread through sexual contact in one case.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women whose sexual partners live in or
have traveled to places where the virus is spreading should either abstain from
sexual activity or "consistently and correctly" use condoms during
vaginal, oral or anal sex.
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