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First female-to-male sexual transmission of Zika reported in New York
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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reported the first suspected female-to-male sexual transmission of Zika virus.
The case study — which appeared in MMWR — describes a nonpregnant woman who developed symptoms of Zika virus after returning to the city from an endemic area. Testing detected Zika virus RNA in both serum and urine, although results of serum testing for anti-Zika virus immunoglobulin M antibody were negative.
The woman reported a single event of condomless vaginal intercourse with a male partner the day she returned to New York. Seven days later, the partner began to develop symptoms and, on day 9 of the infection, demonstrated Zika virus in urine alone.
All urine and serum testing was confirmed by the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch. Interviews conducted by the New York department revealed that the man had no history of travel outside the United States in the year before his illness, and corroborated the single condomless sexual encounter described by the female. Further, the man said he noticed no blood or evidence of bleeding during intercourse, and he had no other recent sexual partners or mosquito bites within the week before his symptoms.
The timing and sequence of events led the investigators to suspect sexual transmission of Zika virus, which previously has only been reported from infected males to their receptive partners. This hypothesis is supported by prior evidence describing the persistence of Zika virus in a Guadeloupian woman’s cervical mucus.
“Current guidance to prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus is based on the assumption that transmission occurs from a male partner to a receptive partner,” the researchers wrote. “Ongoing surveillance is needed to determine the risk for transmission of Zika virus infection from a female to her sexual partners.”
The investigators advised anyone wishing to reduce their risk for Zika virus infection to abstain from sex or to consistently use condoms for vaginal, anal and oral sex. – by Dave Muoio
- References:
- Davidson A, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6528e2.
- Prisant N, et al. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30193-1.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.