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Zika virus detected in female genital tract for first time
Zika was found in the genital tract of a woman in Guadeloupe days after it had disappeared from her blood, raising concerns that women could potentially become chronic carriers of the virus, researchers said.
The case also raises the possibility of sexual transmission from women to men and vertical transmission from mother to child.
“Although we have not tested the infectiousness of a locally situated vaginal virus, its very presence in the female genital tract poses notable challenges, implying that sexual transmission from women to men could occur, as is the case for other viral infections,” they wrote.
“Zika virus presence in the female genital tract also means that vertical transmission from mother to fetus needs to be assessed, since this virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which includes hepatitis C, in which vertical transmission from mother to child can occur in up to 10% of pregnancies.”
After the patient, aged 27 years, presented with symptoms of Zika virus infection at a Guadeloupe hospital in May, the virus was detected in her blood, but not her urine.
A genital swab, endocervical swab and cervical mucous sample collected 3 days after symptom onset all tested positive for the presence of Zika virus RNA. After 11 days, her blood and urine samples were both negative for Zika, while the virus was still detected in her cervical mucus.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy causes microcephaly and other serious birth defects. The CDC has recommended that pregnant women not travel to Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean Sea that has seen local transmission of the virus during the current outbreak.
While the virus is primarily spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito, it can also be transmitted sexually from a man and has been shown to persist in semen for 62 days after the onset of symptoms — longer than blood and urine. Sexual transmission from woman to man has not yet been documented.
“The duration of Zika virus persistence in the female genital tract and its clearance after the disappearance of the symptoms are unknown,” the researchers wrote. “Mirroring what was reported in the male genital tract, a possible dissociation between blood and genital samples of RNA results could occur.
“Our findings raise the threat of a woman potentially becoming a chronic Zika virus carrier, with the female genital tract persistently expressing the virus RNA. Additional studies are underway to answer those essential questions and to assess what would then be the consequences for women of child-bearing age.” – by Gerard Gallagher
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.